UC-NRLF 


SB    3Dfl    T73 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 

MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


TH 


OF 


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THE    A  B  C    OF 

STRAWBERRY  CULTURE, 


FOR- 


Farmers,  Village  People,  and  Small  Growers. 


A  BOOK  FOR  BEGINNERS 


ByT.  B.  Terry  and  A.  I.  Root. 


Second  Edition  ;  Revised  and  Enlarged. 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  A.  I.  ROOT  CO., 

MEDINA.  OHIO. 

1902 


CHAPTER  I.— Introduction. 

FRIEND  ROOT  wants  me  to  write  a  little  pamphlet  on  straw- 
berry culture.  He  says  :  "Now,  do  not  say  you  would  rather 
wait  until  you  have  had  more  experience."  I  should  prefer  to 
wait  two  or  three  years  longer,  certainly  ;  but  still  it  would  be 
true  then  the  same  as  now,  that  I  "know  only  in  part."  Even 
of  as  simple  a  matter  as  growing  strawberries,  the  wisest  man 
can  continue  learning  as  long  as  he  lives.  Friend  Crawford, 
who  has  spent  his  life  among  the  strawberries,  and  is  one  of 
the  highest  authorities  in  the  world,  remarked  to  me  the  other 
day  :  "  I  am  beginning  to  think  that  such  and  such  treatment 
(different  from  what  has  heretofore  been  considered  best)  is 
what  we  want."  Friend  J.  M.  Smith,  another  noted  berry- 
grower  of  long  experience,  wrote  me  last  fall  that  he  made  no 
pretensions  to  being  perfect  in  his  line — only  to  being  one  who 
constantly  tries  to  improve  from  year  to  year. 

The  writer  will  doubtless  say  some  things  that  he  would 
like  to  take  back  five  years  from  now.  But  if  he  should  wait 
five  years  before  writing  this  little  book  it  would  be  the  same. 
The  world  is  constantly  moving  on.  I  shall  not  attempt  to 
instruct  old  growers,  nor  those  who  raise  berries  on  a  large 
scale.  From  them  I  have  learned  all  I  could,  both  on  their 
places  and  at  our  institutes,  and  from  their  writings.  I  have 
picked  out,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  what  would  be  of  the  most 
use  to  me,  growing  berries  in  a  small  way.  This,  I  hope,  may 
be  told  so  plainly  as  to  help  thousands  of  farmers  and  village 
people,  and  particularly  the  young  people,  who  have  not  had  a 
chance  to  learn  much  about  the  business. 

Mr.  Charles  A.  Green  says  :  "No  instruction  can  be  given 
in  fruit-growing  or  any  other  pursuit  that  will  enable  the  inex- 
perienced reader  to  begin  largely,  without  being  liable  to  meet 


M358S12 


4  A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE 

with  loss.  Nothing  can  supply  the  need  of  actual  experience. 
In  reading  an  article  on  fruit  culture,  the  veteran  will  gather 
more  valuable  information  than  the  novice,  for  he  will  know 
what  thoughts  and  methods  are  the  most  practical,  while  the 
novice  will  be  more  apt  to  follow  impracticable  theories,  and  be 
led  astray,  or  may  not  clearly  understand  the  lesson  taught." 
With  the  first  of  this  I  most  heartily  agree.  The  novice  had 
better  begin  in  a  small  way,  and  work  up  as  he  gets  experience. 
As  to  the  latter  part,  I  believe  that  friend  Green  could  write  an 
article  or  a  book,  and  tell  a  novice  exactly  what  to  do,  leaving 
out  all  "impracticable  theories"  that  might  lead  him  astraj, 
and  write  it  so  plainly  that  even  a  child  could  understand  the 
lesson  taught.  Now,  this  is  exactly  what  the  writer  will  try  to 
do  in  this  little  work.  When  I  read  "Gregory  on  Squashes," 
years  ago,  all  of  his  directions  were  so  plain  that  I,  although 
entirely  new  at  the  business,  made  a  success  from  the  very 
beginning  in  growing  from  a  quarter  to  half  an  acre.  Why  can 
not  the  growing  of  strawberries  be  made  as  plain  and  simple? 

Having  been  through  the  mill  lately  myself,  perhaps  I  shall 
think  to  make  every  little  matter  more  plain  than  some  older 
and  more  expert  hand  would.  Such  are  apt  to  forget  how 
green  they  were  once.  For  example  :  When  visiting  my  friend 
W.  W.  Farnsworth,  a  well-known  berry-grower,  he  was  laugh- 
ing over  the  ignorance  displayed  by  the  writer  of  a  letter  he 
had  just  received.  The  man  wished  to  know  whether,  in  cut- 
ting all  blossoms  from  newly  set  strawberry-plants,  he  should 
just  cut  the  blossoms  or  buds  off  the  stalk,  or  cut  off  the  whole 
stalk,  or  stem,  that  had  the  buds  on,  along  with  some  little 
leaves  that  were  on  it.  Now,  I  was  not  going  to  let  brother 
Farnsworth  laugh  at  me,  so  I  kept  still ;  but  I  enjoyed  the 
matter  greatly  all  to  myself,  for  only  the  year  before  we  had 
just  that  trouble  on  our  minds.  The  girls  came  to  me  and  said 
there  were  some  little  leaves  on  the  stalk  with  the  blossoms  and 
buds  ;  and  the  books  all  said,  "  Cut  off  all  blossoms  as  they 
appear."  Being  entirely  green  at  the  business,  we  did  not 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE.  5 

know  just  what  to  do.  If  we  do  not  do  any  more,  we  shall  try 
to  make  every  little  matter  so  plain  that  any  girl  or  boy  can 
understand  how  to  grow  strawberries.  The  writer  felt  pro- 
voked, not  long  since,  when  reading  an  article  in  an  agricul- 
tural paper,  written  by  a  well-known  horticulturist.  He 
seemed  to  be  trying  to  mystify  the  matter  of  fertilization 
among  strawberry  plants.  He  seemed  to  wish  to  discourage 
farmers  from  growing  strawberries,  on  the  ground  that,  from 
their  lack  of  knowledge,  they  would  soon  have  barren  beds. 
And  still  that  wri  er  had  the  ability  to  make  the  entire  matter 
of  fertilization  so  plain  and  simple  that  any  child  could  under- 
stand all  that  is  necessary. 

Considerable  of  what  is  in  the  following  pages  was  written, 
in  substance,  either  for  the  Ohio  Farmer,  the  Country  Gentle- 
man, or  the  Rural  New-Yorker;  but  it  has  all  been  written 
over  and  revised  and  put  into  more  convenient  form  for  ref- 
erence. The  first  part  of  this  book,  you  will  notice,  is  par- 
ticularly for  farmers  and  others  who  want  to  grow  only  enough 
berries  for  th*ir  own  use,  with  the  least  possible  trouble,  and 
where  the  greatest  yield  is  not  an  important  point.  Later 
on  will  be  found  something  for  those  who,  like  the  writer, 
grow  some  berries  to  sell,  and  enjoy  making  the  most  possible 
out  of  what  they  do. 


CHAPTER  II.— For  Farmers. 

Some  readers  may  know  that  the  writer  for  years  argued  in 
the  papers  against  farmers,  as  a  class,  fussing  to  raise  their  own 
strawberries,  where  they  can  buy  nice  ones  handily.  The  idea 
was,  that  each  one,  farmer  and  fruit-grower,  had  better  attend 
to  his  own  business  ;  that  the  farmer,  so  far  as  money-making 
is  concerned,  had  better  raise  a  little  more  of  what  is  in  his  own 
line,  and  take  the  money  and  buy  strawberries,  rather  than  fuss 


6  ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

with  a  little  patch.  This  was  my  practice  for  some  seventeen 
years.  I  could  raise  $20.00  worth  extra  of  potatoes,  which  were 
right  in  my  line,  and  make  a  fine  profit  on  them,  and  with  the 
money  buy  what  strawberries  we  wanted,  of  a  small-fruit 
grower  near  by,  who  made  a  business  of  berry-growing,  while, 
had  I  grown  the  $20.00  worth  of  strawberries  myself,  it  would 
probably  have  been  at  a  loss,  and  would  have  been  an  extra 
matter  to  worry  over  and  bother  with.  Now,  I  thought  at  the 
time  that  this  was  sound  business  policy,  and,  for  that  matter, 
I  still  think  so  ;  but  I  am  just  as  well  satisfied  that  it  will  not 
work.  I  preached  it  because  I  had  tried  it,  and  thought  it  the 
best  way,  where  one  is  already  overrun  with  business.  But 
many  of  our  farmers  seem  to  have  bet  n  born  with  the  feeling 
that  they  must  not  pay  out  any  money  for  any  thing  they  can 
possibly  get  along  without.  The  writer  was  not  born  on  the 
farm,  and  it  was  just  as  easy  for  him  to  buy  five  bushels  of 
strawberries  as  a  barrel  of  salt  or  a  set  of  chairs,  or  any  thing 
else  that  we  did  not  produce.  He  really  had  no  idea  that  it 
made  so  much  difference  what  one's  bringing  up  had  been. 
But  he  has  been  around  among  farmers  a  good  deal  of  late,  and 
has  learned  his  mistake.  I  remember  once  going  home  with  a 
well-to-do  farmer  who  had  many  acres  of  land  to  manage,  and 
considerable  money  invested  in  outside  business.  He  showed 
me,  among  other  things,  a  large  bed  of  strawberries.  Now,  I 
knew  that  this  friend  was  close  to  a  market  where  he  could 
buy  fine  home-grown  berries  at  fair  prices,  and  I  was  rather 
surprised  that  a  man  with  so  much  business  on  his  hands 
should  be  bothering  to  grow  his  own  strawberries.  So  I  said  to 
him  :  "You  grow  these,  of  course  for  the  pleasure  of  it,  and 
not  because  it  pays  you  to  fuss  with  such  little  matters  when 
you  have  so  large  a  farm  and  so  much  other  business  to  attend 
to?" 

"No;  I  raise  them,"  he  replied,  "because  I  should  not 
have  them  if  I  did  not.  I  tried  your  plan,  and  we  did  not  have, 
I  presume,  more  than  a  peck  of  berries  during  the  season, 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE.  7 

although  they  were  plentiful  in  maiket.  I  could  not  buy  more 
than  a  quart  or  two  at  a  time,  and  even  that  went  against  the 
grain.  My  bringing-up  on  the  farm  had  been  of  another  kind. 
I  could  not  buy  them  freely.  It  was  either  raise  them  or  go 
without." 

Again,  a  well-known  agriculturist  sat  with  me  at  a  hotel 
table.  He  had  been  a  farmer  all  his  life,  and  is  well  off.  For 
a  wonder,  there  was  some  really  good  cheese  on  the  table.  Our 
farmer  friend  helped  himself  several  times.  He  seemed  to  like 
it  very  much.  I  said  to  him  :  "You  do  not  get  good  cheese 
down  your  way,  I  guess,  judging  from  the  way  you  take  hold 
of  that." 

His  reply  was  :  ' '  They  have  it  at  the  groceries  ;  but,  to  tell 
the  truth,  as  we  do  not  make  cheese  we  do  not  have  it  on  our 
table  one  week  out  of  the  fifty-two." 

Now,  this  farmer  lives  in  a  house  that  cost  at  least  $5000,  and 
has  no  lack  of  funds ;  but,  although  evidently  fond  of  cheese, 
he  goes  without  it  because  they  do  not  produce  it.  His  bring- 
ing-up clings  to  him,  and  he  can  not  use  freely  what  must  be 
bought  for  money  —  don't  you  see  ?  If  this  is  the  case  among 
such  well- to  do  farmers,  who  can  draw  their  checks  for  thou- 
sands of  dollars  at  any  time,  and  have  them  honored,  how 
would  it  be  likely  to  be  where  there  are  two  or  three  ways  for 
every  dollar  to  go?  Well,  I  visited  such  a  farmer  last  winter. 
They  are  not  really  poor,  but  are  not  yet  out  of  debt,  and  said 
they  had  hard  work  to  pay  their  interest  and.  make  both  ends 
meet.  The  wife  told  me  she  had  tried  every  spring  to  get  her 
husband  to  set  out  some  strawberry-plants.  He  had  always 
said:  "  Oh  !  we  can  buy  strawberries  cheaper  than  we  can  raise 
them."  "  And  now,"  she  says,  "  how  many  do  you  think  he 
bought  last  year  ?  Not  one  single  quart !  ' ' 

Now,  this  looks  a  little  against  that  friend  ;  but  I  know  how 
it  was.  He  thought  in  the  spring  it  was  cheaper  to  buy  than  to 
grow  them  ;  but  when  it  came  time  to  buy  he  hadn't  the  money 
to  spare.  He  felt  as  though  he  must  pay  his  debts  for  all  of 


8  ABC  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE. 

buying  luxuries,  and  that  was  honest  and  square.  Just  for  this 
reason,  thousands  will  never  have  berries  unless  they  raise 
them.  Even  if  they  are  not  in  debt  they  may  be  short  of  mon- 
ey to  buy  with,  and  berry  time  will  slip  by  and  they  will  not 
have  any  to  am-unt  to  any  thing.  There  are  many  ways  for 
money  to  go,  on  many  farms.  I  know  that  many  farmers  went 
^without  apples  last  year  because  their  own  crop  was  a  failure. 
I  have  also  known  many  to  go  without  potatoes  when  they 
failed  to  grow  enough  for  their  own  use.  In  view  of  all  these 
facts  I  feel  certain  that  the  great  mass  of  our  farmers  have  got 
to  raise  their  own  strawberries  or  practically  go  without. 

Possibly  what  I  have  written  in  the  past  may  have  caused 
some  farmers'  families  to  go  without  berries.  They  gave  up 
trying  to  grow  them,  because  Terry  said  it  did  not  pay,  and 
they  could  not  buy  them.  In  fact,  some  ladies  have  told  me 
that  this  was  the  case  at  their  homes.  After  this  I  am  going  to 
take  human  nature  as  we  find  it,  and  urge  every  farmer  to  grow 
all  the  strawberries  his  family  can  possibly  use  —  not  merely  to 
put  out  the  plants,  for  that,  as  it  is  usually  done,  is  not  much 
better  for  the  family  than  depending  on  buying  would  be.  A 
well-known  grower  of  plants,  in  answer  to  a  direct  question  at 
one  of  our  institutes,  acknowledged  that  he  did  not  think  that 
one  farmer  in  ten  who  bought  plants  of  him  ever  made  any 
thing  out  of  them  worth  speaking  of. 

Another  well-known  berry-grower,  Mr.  L,.  B.  Pierce,  says  in 
the  Ohio  Farmer,  in  regard  to  this  point  :  "Almost  every  farm- 
er of  my  acquaintance  has  tried  the  experiment  (of  growing  his 
own  strawberries),  and  I  have  furnished  in  my  time  not  less 
than  one  hundred  personal  acquaintances  with  plants  for  the 
experiment,  and  these  were  not  novelties,  but  well-tried  stan- 
dard varieties,  such  as  the  Wilson,  Charles  Downing,  Green 
Prolific,  Cumberland,  and  Glendale.  Less  than  half  a  dozen  of 
them  kept  their  plantations  up  after  two  years,  and  the  rest 
either  buy  berries  or  go  without.  The  berries  had  to  go,  be- 
cause there  was  already  on  the  farm  an  abundance  of  work  that 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   GUI/TURK.  9 

must  be  performed  daily,  and  there  was  no  time  to  care  for  a 
new  industry." 

This  is  a  rather  discouraging  state  of  things  ;  but  I  suppose 
Mr.  Pierce  knows  what  he  says  to  be  true.  Others  have  told 
me  about  the  same  thing,  and  said  it  was  useless  to  advise 
farmers  as  a  class  to  grow  strawberries  ;  that  they  already  have 
too  many  things  to  attend  to  ;  that  I,  with  my  specialty  farm- 
ing, could  get  time  to  attend  to  them,  but  the  masses  can  not 
and  will  not.  "  Where  there  is  a  will  there  is  a  way."  I  am 
trying  now  to  get  the  will  into  you,  and  then  I  will  show  you 
the  "way." 

When  I  ride  by  a  little  neglected  patch  of  small  fruits  and 
weeds  and  grass,  and  see  fine  fields  of  well-cared-for  corn,  oats, 
and  clover  on  the  same  farm,  I  can  not  help  feeling  pity  for  the 
man  who  does  not  try  as  hard  to  grow  fine-eating  crops  for 
himself  and  family  as  he  does  for  his  stock.  That  little  neg- 
lected patch  serves  as  an  excuse  for  not  buying  any  berries  (of 
course  not,  for  we  raise  them),  and  essentially  for  going  with- 
out. Now  let  us  be  honest,  friends  ;  isn't  this  just  exactly  so  ? 
You  set  out  a  few  plants,  and  let  the  weeds  and  grass  choke 
them  almost  out  of  existence,  and  from  them  comes  (or,  rather, 
does  not  come)  your  family  supply.  Am  I  getting  almost  too 
hard  on  you?  Well,  it  is  only  to  make  you  see  yourselves  as 
others  see  you,  so  there  may  be  some  chance  to  encourage  you 
to  do  better. 

To  be  sure,  the  farm  crops  bring  the  money  that  pays  debts 
and  buys  the  necessities  of  life  But  surely  a  life  supplied  with 
only  the  barest  necessities  is  not  what  we  want.  We  ought  to 
have  some  luxuries  ;  and  what  greater  one  can  we  ask  for  than 
delicious  ripe  strawberries  on  our  tables,  in  great  abundance, 
every  meal,  for  some  three  weeks  ?  But  let  us  look  into  this 
matter  and  see  whether  we  can  not  find  out  why  the  farmer's 
fruit-garden  is  so  frequently  neglected.  It  is  not  that  they  do 
not  want  good  things.  It  is  not  that  they  care  more  for  their 
Battle  than  for  their  families,  as  my  words  above  would  seem  to 


10  A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

indicate.  No,  no.  They  usually  have  many  irons  in  the  fire, 
and  the  large  jobs  naturally  get  the  first  attention.  The  result 
is,  when  they  get  around  to  the  fruit-garden  it  is  too  late  to  do 
the  work  to  the  best  advantage.  I  can  not  blame  a  man  for 
dreading  the  job  if  it  has  been  neglected  until  the  weeds  have 
obtained  full  possession.  Again,  they  haven't,  perhaps,  laid 
out  the  patch  so  it  can  be  worked  to  the  best  advantage  with  a 
horse.  I  am  also  convinced,  by  talking  with  many  farmers, 
that  they  do  not  know  how  to  take  care  of  strawberries  and 
other  small  fruits  properly.  All  these  things  I  will  try  to  help 
you  out  on  in  the  following  pages.  But  let  me  say  right  here  : 
Please  do  not  let  any  thing  I  have  said,  or  may  say,  influence 
you  to  set  out  any  strawberries  unless  you  have  made  up  your 
mind  that  that  crop  is  just  as  important,  so  far  as  it  goes,  as 
any  other,  and  shall  be  taken  care  of  properly  and  promptly, 
and  not  pushed  off  by  all  the  big  jobs.  Unless  you  will  do  just 
this,  whether  or  no,  I  pray  you  do  not  begin.  Better  save  the 
money  you  pay  for  plants. 

What  I  said  in  the  first  part  of  this  chapter,  about  its  being 
better  business  policy,  oftentimes,  to  buy  berries  than  to  raise 
them,  would  not,  of  course,  apply  to  very  many  farmers  who 
could  not  handily  buy  good  fresh  berries.  Such  must  grow 
them  any  way,  or  go  without.  Around  us  there  are  several 
growers,  in  a  small  way,  from  whom  we  can  get  them  fresh, 
but  still  not  quite  as  choice,  usually,  as  those  we  grow  our- 
selves. Regular  growers  must  pick  them  before  they  are  ripe, 
so  they  will  stand  sending  to  market.  To  have  the  strawberry 
in  its  perfection  you  must  leave  it  on  the  vines  until  dead  ripe, 
and  then  eat  it  very  soon  after  picking. 

Right  here  I  may  as  well  confess  that,  even  if  I  was  not 
brought  up  on  a  farm,  and  thought  I  could  buy  what  we  want- 
ed as  freely  as  though  we  raised  it,  we  have  used  more  berries 
since  we  grew  them  than  we  ever  did  when  we  bought  them.  I 
do  not  remember  that  we  ever  bought  more  than  five  or  six 
bushels  of  strawberries  in  a  season.  Last  year  I  suppose  we 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  11 

ate,  canned,  and  gave  away,  nearly  twenty  bushels.  The  year 
before,  we  canned  and  ate  thirteen  bushels.  Did  we  use  so 
many  more  because  they  were  so  much  better  than  those 
we  bought  ?  Not  entirely.  Our  minister  was  here  to  supper 
during  berry  time  last  year.  When  he  noticed  the  great  heap- 
ing saucers  full  at  each  plate  he  remarked  :  ' '  Berries  are  a 
luxury  with  us  in  town  ;  but  I  see  they  are  a  common  article  of 
food  with  you. ' '  That  is  it  exactly.  Why  should  they  not  be  ? 
It  takes  but  a  few  rods  of  land  and  a  little  labor,  if  system- 
atized, to  grow  them.  It  is  one  of  the  compensations  for  our 
isolation  out  here  in  the  country.  God  does  not  give  all  good 
things  to  any  one  class  of  people.  Our  minister  can  step  right 
into  church,  or  a  lecture,  or  to  the  depot,  dryshod,  and  get  his 
mail  while  it  is  fresh.  During  the  past  winter  of  1889  we  liter- 
ally had  to  wallow  in  the  mud  to  get  to  town.  But  when  it  is 
hot  and  dusty  in  town  next  summer,  we  can  live  on  strawber- 
ries and  cream  in  a  way  our  minister  can  not  afford.  And  we 
shall  have  better  health  all  summer  for  it  too.  God  arranged 
to  have  strawberries  come  just  at  the  time  when  we  need  them. 
They  are  Nature's  spring  medicine.  I  get  better-natured  every 
day  after  they  come,  and  they  are  the  best  medicine  to  take  I 
ever  got  hold  of. 

Then  they  give  the  women-folks  a  rest,  too,  from  baking 
and  cooking — at  least  they  do  so  at  our  house.  We  almost  live 
on  strawberries  and  nice  bread  and  butter,  and  milk  and  cream, 
for  three  weeks.  Meat  and  potatoes,  and  particularly  pies  and 
cake  and  puddings,  get  a  good  deal  of  a  rest.  Of  course,  we 
want  some  more  solid  food  than  strawberries,  but  it  is  usually 
the  most  simple  kind.  One  season  that  we  kept  count,  we  had 
strawberries  on  the  table  for  66  meals  in  succession,  just  as  free 
as  water.  We  call  that  living.  Some  farmers  say  they  do  not 
care  much  for  strawberries.  Never  mind  what  they  say.  There 
isn't  one  man  in  fifty  who  wouldn't  enjoy  a  big  dish  of  large, 
fully  ripe  Downing  strawberries  and  cream,  and  be  sorry  when 
the  last  berry  was  swallowed. 


12  A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

Now,  a  table  bountifully  supplied  with  this  health-giving 
luxury  for  at  least  three  weeks  every  season,  and  a  few  bushels 
canned  for  winter,  is  what  every  one  of  us  farmers  ought  to 
have.  We  work  hard,  and  we  deserve  it.  Our  families  work 
hard,  and  we  owe  them  this  enjoyment.  Now,  we  can  do  this 
thing  if  we  will.  Turn  over,  and  read  just  how  to  do  it. 


CHAPTER  III. 

LOCATION — CHICKEN  QUESTION  —  THE  HOME  ACRE  —  HOW 
MANY  SHALL  WE  SET  OUT?— LONG  ROWS  AND  CHEAP 
CULTIVATION  —  ROTATION  —  MANURING —  PREPARING  THE 
GROUND— WHEN  TO  SET  OUT — A  PICTURE  FROM  LIFE. 

When  selecting  a  place  for  the  strawberries,  one  of  the 
first  things  to  be  considered  is  the  chicken  question.  Most 
farmers  keep  chickens.  Chickens  like  strawberries.  Now, 
shall  the  berries  be  put  inside  the  picket  fence  along  with  the 
garden  ?  Well,  you  can  do  that  way  or  you  can  inclose  a  yard 
to  keep  the  poultry  in  when  they  would  be  doing  damage  at 
large.  The  latter  way  would  suit  me  best.  However,  we  do 
not  keep  any  hens.  They  would  have  to  be  shut  up  about  all 
the  season,  or  they  would  do  altogether  too  much  damage  on 
our  little  farm.  We  have  tried  it.*  I  know  that  a  fenced  gar- 
den is  not  a  place  that  an  ordinary  farmer  likes  to  get  in  to 
work  ;  and,  besides,  garden  crops  and  strawberries  do  best  (the 

*  There  is  a  way  of  getting  along  with  chickens,  without  having  ei- 
ther the  garden  or  the  chickens  fenced  ;  and  this  is.  the  way  we  manage  : 
We  have  about  ten  acres  of  ground  devoted  to  market-gardening  ;  and  as 
soon  as  our  men  start  out  with  the  plow  or  cultivator,  a  great  drove  of 
ch  ckens  is  sure  to  follow  ;  and  that  is  just  what  I  want.  Why,  my  old 
hens  will  oegin  to  sing  just  as  soon  as  they  see  the  cultivator  or  plow  start 
from  the  tool-house.  Now  about  the  berries  or  tomatoes,  etc.:  Just  as  soon 
as  the  hens  commence  meddling  with  the  strawberries  we  give  them  all 
the  shelled  corn  they  will  eat.  In  fact,  I  empty  a  two-bushel  bag  into  a 


ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  13 

same  as  all  farm  crops)  where  rotation  can  be  practiced.  How- 
ever, one  can  rotate  somewhat  in  a  fenced-in  garden  which  I 
will  speak  of  soon. 

You  want  some  good  land — just  the  richest  and  best  you 
have  near  the  house.  It  will  be  a  little  better  if  it  slopes  to 
the  east  or  north,  rather  than  the  south  or  west.  It  will  be 
cooler,  and  that  would  just  suit  the  berries.  It  should  be  land 
that  is  pretty  clean.  If  chickweed  and  purslain  abound,  you 
will  have  more  trouble  in  keeping  your  berries  clean.  You 
must  not  set  out  strawberries  on  sod  ground,  for  fear  of  the 
white  grub,  unless  you  know  there  are  none  there.  I  set  ber- 
ries on  clover  sod,  in  regular  rotation,  the  same  as  we  do  pota- 
toes ;  but  we  have  no  trouble  to  speak  of  with  grubs.  If  there 
are  any  in  the  ground  they  will  eat  the  roots  of  your  plants, 
and  ruin  your  patch.  They  are  as  fond  of  strawberry -roots  as 
chickens  and  robins  are  of  the  berries  themselves.  Thus  we 
have  to  look  out  for  enemies  on  all  sides.  You  should  choose 
land  with  no  tree-roots  in  it.  These  would  take  up  the  mois- 
ture that  strawberries  particularly  need.  Remember  that  tree- 
roots  extend  a  long  way  from  the  body,  sometimes. 

Strawberries  can  be  grown  successfully  on  almost  any  kind 
of  soil,  from  sand  to  heavy  clay.  I  have  seen  big  crops  on 
sand  so  light  that  much  of  it  would  blow  away,  if  not  protect- 
ed ;  but  it  took  much  manure  to  grow  them.  Very  heavy-clay  will 
grow  large  fine  berries  ;  but  one  must  choose  varieties  fitted  to 

large  tin  can  placed  in  the  poultry-house.  Then  I  make  sure  that  drink- 
ing-water is  close  by.  If  you  let  the  hens  get  out  of  drinking-water,  evt  11 
for  two  or  three  hours,  they  will  at  once  commence  on  the  juicy  strawber- 
ries aud  tomatoes.  Or  if  they  get  hungry  they  will  eat  strawberries,  both 
green  and  ripe.  Be  sure  they  do  not  get  hungry  nor  thirsty,  and  they  will 
ordinarily  do  very  little  damage.  I  think  the  corn  and  drink  are  cheaper 
than  a  fence.  Besides,  if  we  fenced  the  chickens  up  and  kept  them  from 
the  garden,  they  could  not  follow  the  cultivator  in  picking  up  angleworms, 

frubs,  etc.  Our  forty  or  fifty  hens  that  almost  board  themselves  and  work 
or  nothing  a  great  part  of  the  year  furnish  us  an  amount  of  eggs  for 
the  lunch-room  that  could  tiot  well  be  spared.  It  is  true,  they  make  trou- 
ble in  the  garden  and  in  the  tool-house,  more  or  less.  Where  mellow  laud 
is  so  plentiful,  however,  the  year  round,  their  scratching  does  not  amount 
to  much  unless  they  get  into  our  hot-beds  or  something  of  that  sort.— 
A.  I.  R. 


14  A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE. 

the  soil.  Some  will  do  best  on  a  particular  kind  of  soil,  and 
some  on  another.  I  should  rather  prefer  what  would  be  called 
a  good  potato  soil,  a  happy  medium,  about  half  way  between 
sand  and  clay.  Moist  soil  is  good,  but  not  wet  soil.  If  it  is 
wet  it  should  be  tile-drained.  Just  what  is  best  is  a  well-drain- 
ed (naturally  or  with  tiles)  but  still  moist  piece  of  land.  Again, 
it  should  be  upland,  not  lowland,  because  late  spring  frosts 
will  be  heavier  on  the  latter.  A  frost,  when  the  berries  are  in 
bloom,  does  much  damage  ;  hence,  select  land  where  there  will 
be  as  little  chance  as  possible  of  loss  in  this  direction.  It  is 
pretty  hard  to  work  a  whole  year  over  a  bed  and  keep  them  in 
perfect  order,  and  then  have  the  frost  take  a  large  part  of  the 
fruit  in  a  single  night. 

Of  course,  I  am  telling  you  what  is  best  all  around  ;  but  if 
much  is  wrong  for  your  location,  set  out  some  berries.  You 
can  manage  to  grow  enough  for  your  own  use  some  way  ;  so, 
do  not  despair,  but  just  come  as  near  to  the  right  as  you  can. 
I  would  not  set  strawberries  between  rows  of  raspberries  or 
other  small  fruit  in  the  fruit-garden.  We  tried  it.  The  rasp- 
berries, blackberries,  etc.,  sent  their  roots  under  the  strawber- 
ries and  robbed  them  of  fertility  and  moisture  ;  and  when  we 
were  picking  in  the  strawberries  we  packed  the  ground,  walk- 
ing back  and  forth  so  much,  greatly  to  the  injury  of  the  other 
small  fruits.  If  you  set  strawberries  in  the  garden,  put  them 
all  in  a  block  by  themselves.  The  accompanying  figure  shows 
a  plan  for  a  farmer's  garden,  that  would  suit  me.  I  have  called 
it  "  the  home  acre  ;  "  and  how  much  more  homelike  and  en- 
joyable would  thousands  of  farms  be  if  they  had  such  an  acre, 
more  or  less,  well  started  and  well  cared  for  ! 

Suppose,  to  start  with,  that  1  is  set  out  with  strawberries, 
and  2  and  3  are  used  for  garden-stuff.  The  next  spring  you  set 
out  a  new  bed  of  strawberries  in  2,  and  use  3  and  4  for  garden. 
A  year  later  you  set  out  strawberries  in  3,  and  have  your  gar- 
den on  1  and  4,  and  so  on,  rotating  on  these  4  strips.  This  is 
supposing  you  keep  a  bed  in  bearing  but  one  year,  which  I 


ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY    GUI/TURK. 


15 


think  is  the  best  way,  and  which  we  will  talk  more  about  be- 
fore we  get  through.  Now  you  want  to  know  what  the  space 
marked  5  is  for,  I  suppose.  Well,  this  is  a  strawberry-book  ; 
but  when  we  are  picking  out  the  location  we  must  sort  o'  fit  it 
in  with  all  the  other  good  things  which  the  farmer  should  have 
in  his  garden.  On  5  I  would  set  out  raspberries,  blackberries, 
currants,  grapes,  and  gooseberries,  if  you  like  them.  I  would 
put  the  grapes  on  the  right  hand  side  of  5,  perhaps  two  rows 
through.  This  is  because  they  will  .be  permanent ;  but  the 


FIG.  1.— THE   HOME  ACRE. 


raspberries,  etc.,  will  need  resetting  in  time,  and  had  better  be 
set  on  new  land  (rotation).  You  can  set  them  over  on  1,  or  1 
and  2,  using  part  of  5  for  garden-truck  and  strawberries.  By 
this  plan  you  can  keep  the  kitchen  garden  and  fruit-garden  on 


16  A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE. 

a  g'ven  area  for  all  time,  and  do  it  successfully.  But  we  will 
talk  more  about  this  plan  soon. 

First  let  us  consider  the  question,  How  much  land  shall  \ve 
plant  with  strawberries?  Well,  in  order  that  you  may  have  a 
great  abundance,  let  me  advise  that  you  set  out  two  or  three 
square  rods  for  each  person  in  your  family.  To  the  farmer  a  few 
rods  of  land,  more  or  less,  amounts  to  nothing  ;  and  when  you 
have  the  horse  hitched  to  the  cultivator  you  will  hardly  notice 
the  difference  between  cultivating  a  big  patch  and  a  little  one. 
I  would  have  one,  while  I  was  about  it,  that  amounted  to  some- 
thing. The  farmer  must  not  expect  to  grow  berries  so  as  to  get 
a  full  crop.  The  frost  may  take  half,  or  the  drouth  cut  the 
yield  short.  If  the  farmer,  with  such  tillage  and  care  as  he 
can  probably  give,  gets  from  half  a  bushel  to  a  bushel  to  the 
square  rod,  he  may  well  be  satisfied. 

Chas.  A.  Green,  in  a  late  number  of  the  Rural  New  -  York- 
er, says  :  "My  own  family,  not  a  very  large  one,  consumed 
strawberries  for  a  month,  and  we  have  estimated  the  amount  to 
be  over  20  bushels."  If  you  get  too  many,  remember  your 
neighbors,  particularly  the  poor  and  the  sick  (remember  them 
any  way  ;  a  taste  of  your  choice  abundance  may  encourage 
them  to  go  and  do  likewise.  One  can  be  a  missionary  without 
being  a  preacher  of  the  gospel ) .  For  a  family  of  six  persons 
on  this  plan,  you  would  want  96  rods  in  the  garden  (Fig.  1), 
besides  the  head  lands  that  you  turn  your  horse  on  when  culti- 
vating, and  the  strip  marked  5.  One  half  will  be  occupied  by 
the  strawberries  all  the  time,  and  the  other  half  by  your  pota- 
toes, corn,  and  other  garden-truck.  If  you  prefer  raising  your 
potatoes  in  the  field,  and  this  would  make  too  much  garden, 
seed  down  one  strip  each  year  and  let  it  lie  in  grass,  or,  better, 
clover,  and  plow  under  the  entire  growth. 

To  save  time  in  cultivating  I  would  have  this  garden  long 
and  narrow.  One  can  do  the  work  quicker  than  where  it  is 
square.  In  the  plan  given  I  have  figured  on  having  each  of 
the  strips,  1,  2,  3,  and  4,  24  feet  wide,  which  will  give  six  rows 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE.  17 

of  strawberries  on  a  piece.  I  would  have  strip  5,  say  64  feet 
wide,  which  would  give  room  for  eight  rows  of  grapes,  rasp- 
berries, currants,  etc.,  which  I  would  put  8  feet  apart.  For  a 
medium-sized  family  this  would  require  a  strip  of  land  about 
10  rods  long,  containing  something  over  an  acre.  You  will  no- 
tice the  head  lands  in  this  plan.  In  a  fenced  garden  these  are 
necessary  for  convenience  and  fast  work.  This  is  the  small 
fruit  and  vegetable  garden.  I  would  not  have  a  tree  in  or  near 
it.  Both  are  good  things,  but  they  do  not  go  well  together. 

Now  about  the  rotation  in  this  plan.  You  can  raise  vege- 
tables and  strawberries  for  many  years  in  the  same  ground, 
without  seeding  down.  It  will  take  lots  of  manure,  but  it  can 
be  done.  It  is  not,  however,  the  wisest  plan.  Nature  teaches 
us  the  wisdom  of  rotation,  and  the  farmer  always  has  use  for 
every  load  of  manure  he  can  get,  and  he  should  manage  his  ro- 
tations so  as  to  bring  in  a  renovating  crop  often,  to  save  manure. 
Now,  I  would  plow  under  the  vines  in  plot  1,  for  example,  just 
as  soon  as  the  last  berries  were  picked,  and  sow  clover  and 
timothy  seed  on  the  strip,  rolling  it  in.  By  the  time  it  needs 
plowing  for  garden-stuff  the  next  spring  there  should  be  a 
heavy  sod,  which  would  lighten  up  a  heavy  soil,  and  increase 
the  fertility  considerably,  or,  in  other  words,  diminish  the  quan- 
tity of  manure  required.  Then,  as  soon  as  the  garden  truck  is 
off  from  2,  the  first  year  I  would  also  seed  that  and  let  the 
grass  grow  until  ready  to  set  out  the  strawberries.  The  vegeta- 
bles that  could  be  gotten  off  the  earliest  should  be  planted  on 
this  strip,  then  it  could  be  seeded  in  'time  to  make  a  heavy 
growth  on  rich  land.  With  a  very  little  trouble,  in  this  way  I 
would  keep  my  land  mellow,  and  in  good  heart,  without  using 
nearly  as  much  manure. 

I  would  put  on  the  vegetable -ground  what  manure  was 
used,  except,  perhaps,  some  for  mulching  the  strawberries. 
There  will  be  enough  left  in  the  soil  for  the  strawberries,  and 
you  can  take  care  of  grass  and  weeds,  coming  from  seeds  in 
the  manure,  among  the  vegetables  better  than  among  strawber- 


18  ABC  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE. 

ries.  Plow  the  ground  for  strawberries  as  soon  in  the  spring 
as  it  is  dry  enough  to  crumble  nicely  from  the  plow.  Spread 
on  the  surface  the  ashes  from  the  house,  if  you  burn  wood  ; 
then  harrow  thoroughly,  making  the  land  as  fine  as  you  can. 
Last  of  all,  go  over  it  with  a  roller.  Then  you  are  ready  for 
the  plants.  The  sooner  these  are  set  out  after  the  ground  is 
dry  enough  to  work  in  the  spring,  the  better,  in  the  latitude  of 
Northern  Ohio.  This  is  the  best  time,  as  our  large  growers  all 
say,  to  a  man  ;  but  with  care  they  can  be  set  out  almost  any 
time  during  the  summer,  even  as  late  as  after  early  potatoes 
have  been  dug.  If  you  must  set  them  out  as  late  as  that  or  go 
without,  why,  do  it,  by  all  means  ;  but  give  them  richer  land 
and  extra  care.  Friend  Root  has  had  experience  in  this  line, 
and  he  can  tell  you  all  about  it.  You  will  want  some  of  his 
transplanting-tubes  and  the  plants  growing  on  your  own  laud, 
or  near  by  ;  then  if  it  is  as  black  with  manure  as  is  that  of  Mr. 
Root,  and  your  tillage  is  as  perfect,  you  may  expect  some  ber- 
ries "as  big  as  peaches  "  the  next  year.  But  under  ordinary 
conditions,  set  your  plants  for  a  new  bed  about  the  first  of 
May,  in  this  latitude.  I  would  not  freeze  my  fingers  to  do  it  at 
the  earliest  possible  moment  that  the  ground  would  do  (the 
writer  just  about  did  that  once,  before  he  had  had  any  experi- 
ence, having  read  that  they  should  be  set  as  early  as  possible). 
A  few  days  one  way  or  the  other  is  not  important,  if  all  other 
conditions  are  right.  Supposing  you  are  intending  to  set  out 
your  bed  in  the  spring,  we  will  go  on. 

Before  going  to  the 'next  chapter,  however,  one  experience 
in  this  connection  (selecting  a  place  for  the  strawberries)  has 
occurred  to  me.  A  certain  farmer's  wife  induced  her  husband 
to  get  some  strawberry-plants  and  set  them  out.  Where  do 
you  think  he  put  them  ?  Well,  he  selected  a  place  in  one  cor- 
ner of  the  calf  lot,  drove  some  sticks  down,  and  tacked  on  a 
few  boards  to  keep  the  calves  out.  The  farmer  never  got  into 
that  pen  once,  after  setting  the  plants ;  but  the  calves  did  ; 
and  between  them  and  the  weeds,  not  a  berry  was  picked.  The 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  19 

next  spring  the  good  wife  said  :  "  Now,  Joe,  I  am  going  to  get 
some  plants  and  set  them  out  in  a  bed  in  my  flower-garden." 

So  she  sent  to  Mr.  Crawford  for  some,  and  put  them  in  and 
took  good  care  of  them.  Joe  determined  to  show  her  a  thing 
or  two  ("what  does  a  woman  know  about  plants?"  this  be- 
cause she  bought  them),  and  went  to  a  neighbor's  and  got  some 
plants  from  an  old  run  out  bed,  and  set  out  a  bed  in  the  garden. 
Now,  Joe  did  do  considerable  work  on  -his  patch,  just  to  carry 
his  point.  However,  his  wife  said  that,  before  fall,  it  was  hard 
to  tell  whether  he  was  trying  hardest  to  raise  weeds,  grass,  cr 
berries.  They  were  set  out  in  such  a  way  that  all  the  work  had 
to  be  done  with  a  hoe.  Well,  what  was  the  result  ?  Why,  Joe 
never  got  one  single  berry  (when  "  Mrs.  Joe  "  told  me  this  at 
their  fireside  last  winter  he  never  contradicted  the  story  in  any 
point — for  a  wonder),  while  his  wife  had  a  fine  little  bed  of 
berries.  Please  contrast  Joe's  location  and  general  plan  for 
taking  care  of  the  berries,  with  the  plan  given  above,  of  six 
rows  some  ten  rods  long,  that  can  be  rapidly  cultivated  with  a 
horse,  and  you  have  one  of  the  morals.  In  other  chapters  you 
may  find  out  why  Joe's  plants  failed  to  bear. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

VARIETIES  TO  PLANT  ;  WHERE  TO  GET  THEM,  AND  HOW — GOOD 
AND  BAD  PLANTS  ILLUSTRATED  ;  ALSO  PERFECT  AND  IMPER- 
FECT FLOWERS — HEELING  IN  PLANTS — RUST  AND  FROST. 

Please  take  notice  that  I  have  no  plants  to  sell.  This  lit- 
tle book  is  written  to  tell  you  all  I  can  about  strawberry- grow- 
ing, from  a  farmer's  standpoint,  not  to  advertise  any  thing. 
Buy  your  plants  of  the  nearest  reliable  grower.  Tell  him  just 
what  your  soil  is,  and  leave  it  to  him  to  select  for  you,  if  you 


20  A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

are  not  posted.  Tell  him  whether  you  are  subject  to  late  frosts. 
I  did  this  when  I  first  started,  buying  of  Matthew  Crawford,  of 
Cuyahoga  Falls,  Ohio,  and  he  sent  me  just  the  varieties  for  my 
soil  and  frosty  locality.  We  made  a  success  of  growing  straw- 
berries the  very  first  season,  thanks  largely  to  his  selection. 

Some  varieties  are  very  easily  injured  by  frost — the  Sharp- 
less  for  example.  It  would  be  worthless  here  on  my  farm. 
Some  will  bring  a  part  of  a  crop  in  spite  of  repeated  heavy 
frosts,  the  Sterling  particularly.  Some  are  best  adapted  to 
heavy  soils,  the  Sharpless  and  Jessie,  perhaps,  while  others  do 
best  on  lighter  soil.  Tell  your  grower  to  send  you  only  reliable 
standard  varieties.  What  you  want  is  berries,  not  the  latest 
novelty,  which  costs  high  and  may  prove  dear  even  if  taken  as 
a  gift.  Have  the  plants  sent  you  by  express,  if  you  get  any 
quantity,  as  they  can  be  sent  in  better  shape  than  by  mail,  and 
you  will  naturally  get  larger  plants.  If  you  get  only  a  dozen 
or  so  of  a  kind,  to  start  with,  and  grow  your  own  plants  for  a 
bed  —  why,  they  may  as  well  come  by  mail  if  it  will  be  much 
cheaper. 

I  would  have  none  but  the  very  best  plants,  and  new 
young  plants  that  have  never  borne  any  fruit,  and  that  were 
grown  from  plants  that  produced  no  fruit.  New  young  plants 
have  white  fibrous  roots  :  old  ones  have  black  roots  that  look 
old  and  dead.  I  would  not  take  such  as  a  gift.  Better  buy  the 
best  at  high  prices.  I  once  sent  several  hundred  miles,  to  a 
grower  who  had  a  national  reputation  for  having  a  certain  vari- 
ety in  perfection,  for  some  plants,  expecting,  of  course,  to  get 
some  extra-choice  ones.  They  were  sent  by  express,  as  I  wished 
to  spare  no  expense  in  getting  the  best  and  in  the  best  shape. 
Well,  he  sent  me  all  old  plants — at  least  I  received  such.  I 
did  not  know  any  better  then,  but  learned  by  sad  experience. 
Should  such  plants  be  sent  me  again  I  would  return  them.* 

*  May  I  suggest  to  friend  Terry,  that,  instead  of  returning  them,  you 
"heel  them  in  "  and  await  further  orders?  Where  you  return  things  .by 
express,  an  additional  expense  is  imposed  upon  somebody,  and  it  must  be 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  21 

If  you  will  look  at  the  accompanying  figures,  2  and  3,  you 
will  sec  a  small,  feeble  plant,  and  a  good  strong  one. 

I  set  out  only  the  latter  kind,  and  throw  the  former  away. 
To  be  sure,  the  little  ones  with  few  roots  will  live  ;  but  I  have 
set  them  out  side  by  side  with  large  thrifty  ones,  and  watched 
them  ;  and  all  through  the  season  they  kept  just  so  far  behind. 
Use  the  best  only  ;  this  not  so  much  for  the  first  season,  when 
you  buy  the  plants  and  have  to  take  what  comes  (although 
then  I  would  try  hard  to  buy  only  the  best),  as  for  after  sea- 
sons, when  you  take  them  up  out  of  your  own  bed  to  set  out  in 
a  new  one.  Throw  away  any  that  are  not  strong  and  thrifty, 


FlG.  2— A  POOR  PI,ANT. 


FlG.  3— A  GOOD  PI.ANT. 

like  Fig.  3,  with  a  large  crown  (the  body  from  which  the  leaves 
come  out),  and  plenty  of  roots.  In  another  chapter  you  will 
find  the  names  of  the  varieties  I  grow,  and  all  about  them,  if 
you  wish  to  read  up  on  the  subject. 

paid.  By  the  time  tfey  get  back  they  are  doubtless  of  but  little  if  any 
value.  Therefore  do  as  above,  and  ask  the  shipper  for  further  instruc- 
tions. Some  people  leave  them  at  the  express  office,  and  refuse  to  pay  the 
charges.  Now,  I  would  not  do  even  this.  I  would  pay  charges  and  take 
care  of  them  as  best  I  could,  and  write  to  the  shipper.  If  he  is  reasonable 
he  will  make  things  satisfactory.  Even  if  the  plants  are  in  bad  order, 
and  poor,  if  the  variety  is  high-priced  and  valuable  you  can  usually  get 
enough  of  them  to  live,  so  as  to  grow  nice  strong  plants  for  the  next  sea_ 
son.  By  all  means  use  only  the  best  plants,  when  you  can  get  them. — A.I.R" 


22 


A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 


There  is  one  matter  connected  with  varieties  that  each 
grower,  no  matter  how  few  he  has,  should  know  about.  Each 
strawberry  seed  has  a  pistil  through  which  it  must  be  fertilized 
to  come  to  perfection.  The  clump  of  pistils  makes  the  oval 
central  part  of  the  flower,  as  seen  in  Fig.  4.  The  pollen  which 
does  the  fertilizing  is  given  off  by  the  stamens,  which  number 
some  30,  more  or  less,  in  a  flower.  These  can  be  seen  in  Fig. 
5,  growing  out  from  among  the  pistils. 

The  stamens  are  the  male  part  of  the  flower,  and  the  pistils 
the  female.  Some  varieties  produce  flowers  having  both  sta- 
mens and  pistils.  These  are  called  "  staminate,"  or  perfect 
varieties.  Fig.  5  shows  such  a  flower.  Varieties  having  flow- 
ers like  Fig.  4  are  called  "  pistillate,"  or  imperfect.  The  cor- 
rect names  for  these  are  staminate  and  pistillate ;  but  the 


FIG  4. 


FIG.  5. 


AN  IMPERFECT  BLOSSOM. — A  PERFECT  BLOSSOM. 

farmer,  or  young  beginner,  will  remember  better  if  they  are 
called  perfect  and  imperfect,  and  hence  we  will  make  use  of 
these  terms  only,  in  this  book,  to  save  all  confusion.  Perfect- 
flowering  varieties,  such  as  the  Charles  Downing  or  Jessie  or 
Cumberland,  can  be  grown  alone.  They  have  both  stamens 
and  pistils,  and  fertilize  themselves.  Imperfect  ones,  such  as 
the  Bubach  No.  5,  and  Haverland,  must  have  some  perfect 
plants  near  them  to  fertilize  them.  This  matter  of  sex  in 
strawberries  was  not  understood  until  quite  recently.  It  is 
claimed  that  Nicholas  Longworth,  of  Ohio,  was  the  first  to  dis- 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE.  23 

cover  the  matter.  Even  as  young  a  man  as  Charles  A.  Green, 
the  well-known  horticultural  authority,  says  that,  when  he  was 
a  boy,  he  cultivated  imperfectly  blossoming  strawberries  year 
after  year,  receiving  no  fruit,  without  knowing  the  cause  of 
failure.  A  great  many  have  had  the  same'experience. 

Growers  usually  have  about  every  fourth  or  fifth  row  of  a 
perfect-flowering  variety  in  a  field  of  imperfect  ones.  You  may 
ask,  "Why  grow  the  imperfect  kinds  at  all?"  They  are 
usually  more  productive,  hence  in  field  culture  they  are  largely 
used  with  just  enough  perfect  ones  to  do  the  fertilizing.  There 
is  some  difference  of  opinion  about  what  proportion  should  be 
perfect  plants.  Probably  the  season  and  locality  have  some- 
thing to  do  with  it  too.  Mr.  Theodore  F.  Longenecker,  of 
Dayton,  Ohio,  a  very  careful  grower,  would  set  out  nearly  as 
many  rows  of  perfect  plants  as  of  imperfect  —  never  less  than 
three-fifths  as  many.  I  noticed  when  Mr.  Crawford  sent  my 
plants  the  first  year  (some- 1500)  he  sent  half  and  half. 

It  is  claimed  that  the  variety  used  for  fertilizing  has  an  in- 
fluence on  the  imperfect  one.  For  example :  Putney  and 
Woodward  say,  if  you  want  firmness  you  should  fertilize  with 
Wilson  ;  if  sweetness,  use  Sharpless  ;  if  dark  color  is  wanted, 
fertilize  with  Longfellow,  and  so  on.  But  tke  farmer  will  hard- 
ly care  to  delve  into. the  subject  as  deep  as  this.  Leave  it  with 
the  grower  of  plants  to  send  you  the  proper  varieties  for  fertil- 
izing, or  buy  all  perfect  ones.  The  pollen  is  carried  from  one 
variety  to  another  by  wind,  bees,  wasps,  etc.,  probably  ;  but  we 
hardly  know  all  about  this  just  yet.  A  case  in  point  about  this 
fertilizing  business  has  just  occurred  on  my  own  place.  A 
farmer  called,  and  said  that,  from  what  he  had  learned,  the 
Haverland  and  Bubach  were  about  as  promising  berries  for  his 
soil  as  there  were,  and  wanted  to  know  if  I  could  advise  him  of 
any  better  ones  to  send  for.  I  told  him  I  could  not,  and  he 
started  off,  saying  he  would  send  for  a  thousand  plants  of  each. 
Just  in  time  it  occurred  to  be  that  he  might  not  know  they  are 
both  imperfect  varieties.  He  did  not  know,  and  would  have 


24  A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE 

sent  for  them,  and  set  them  out  alone,  and  the  dealer  would 
have  said  nothing,  supposing,  of  course,  that  he  knew  what  be 
was  ordering.* 

Some  varieties  of  strawberries  are  subject  to  blight,  or  rust, 
on  the  leaves.  This  usually  injures  the  growth  and  yield  more 
or  less.  But  a  variety  that  fails  from  rust  in  one  locality,  or 
under  certain  treatment,  may  be  all  right  in  another  place,  or 
when  grown  under  different  conditions.  The  Sterling  berry  is 
one  of  the  very  finest  I  have,  to  yield,  in  thin  matted  rows  ; 
but  it  utterly  fails  in  hills,  from  rust.  The  rust  first  appears  in 
the  form  of  little  dark  spots  on  the  leaves,  which  may  increase 
until  the  leaves  all  die.  I  hardly  think  there  is  any  practical 
remedy  yet,  although  some  have  told  me  of  applications  that 
would  stop  the  disease.  The  best  practical  remedy  is  to  grow 
those  kinds  that  do  not  rust  on  such  soil  as  yours.  Two  or 
three  varieties  that  I  have  tried  were  rendered  almost  worthless 
by  rust,  while  the  Bubach,  Jessie,  and  Haverland  are  almost 
entirely  free  from  it. 

By  this  time  you  may  think  you  had  better  buy  your 
plants,  when  first  beginning,  of  a  perfectly  reliable  man  who 
will  study  to  send  you  what  is  best  for  you.  Now,  that  is  just 
right.  Do  not  buy  any  cheap  plants,  or  of  a  man  whom  you 
have  any  fear  might  send  you  whatever  he  had  on  hand  any 
way.  Do  not  take  plants  as  a  gift,  out  of  some  old  bed  of  a 

*  I  confess  that  I  have,  until  this  season,  been  a  little  skeptical  in  re- 
gard to  the  importance  of  planting  as  above  ;  but  a  year  ago,  wishing 
some  Bubachs  near  the  office,  that  we  might  take  up  plants  without  go'iig 
to  the  fields,  I  planted  two  rows  right  in  sight  of  where  I  am  writing  now. 
The  ground  was  heavily  manured,  and  they  made  a  great  profusion  of 
runners,  which  have  been  used  for  filling  orders.  At  the  time  I  did  it,  I 
had  only  plants  in  mind,  not  thinking  of  fruit ;  and  when  it  occurred  to 
me  that  no  other  berries  were  near,  I  concluded  I  would  wait  and  see  if 
they  would  bear  fruit.  The  fruit  is  now  ripening,  but  the  berries  are 
small,  gnarly,  and  knotted,  and  there  is  scarcely  a  perfect  one  in  the 
patch,  although  the  growth  of  foliage  is  equal  to  any  I  ever  saw.  Our  Bu- 
bachs out  in  the  fields  are  giving  monstrous  berries  in  great  quantities, 
with  no  knotted  or  gnarly  ones  among  them.  In  the  fertilized  plot,  a 
great  many  of  the  berries  are  simply  little  knots,  or  knobs.  I  give  this 
for  the  benefit  of  those  who,  like  myself,  think  there  is  some  humbug  or 
superstition  in  regard  to  the  fertilization  of  strawberries. — A.  I.  R. 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  25 

neighbor's.  I  have  had  farmers  ask  me  if  they  could  get  some 
plants  from  my  bed  after  we  were  through  picking,  and  just 
when  we  were  going  to  plow  them  under.  They  were  for  sav- 
ing a  few  cents  ;  but  it  was  "penny  wise  and  pound  foolish." 
Get  good  plants  to  start  with,  and  then  I  will  tell  you,  further 
along,  how  to  have  good  ones  ever  after.  I  could  not  advise  you 
better  than  to  write  to  the  secretary  of  your  nearest  horticultu- 
ral society,  putting  in  some  stamps,  or  attend  their  meetings 
and  ask  your  questions.  Most  of  our  agricultural  papers  now 
have  horticultural  columns,  and  one  can  get  advice  from  reli- 
able sources  by  writing  to  the  editor. 

When  your  plants  come,  the  sooner  they  go  into  the  ground 
the  better.  If  they  come  at  night,  or.  your  ground  is  not  quite 
ready,  you  may  set  the  box  or  basket  they  come  in  down  cellar 
until  you  are  ready  to  put  them  out.  If  it  is  likely  to  be  more 
than  a  few  hours,  I  would  open  the  bunches  (they  come  tied  25 
or  50  in  a  bunch,  usually),  slightly  spreading  out  the  roots  in  a 
little  trench  of  moist  mellow  soil,  and  cover  them  with  the 
same,  and  then  shade  the  plants.  Where  you  send  for  a  few 
plants  by  mail  to  test,  or  get  a  start  from,  if  they  come  when  it 
is  not  a  favorable  time  to  set  them  out  you  can  dig  a  little 
trench  and  "heel  them  in,"  putting  the  plants  about  three 
inches  apart,  and  covering  the  roots  with  moist  dirt  ;  then 
shade  from  the  sun  until  they  start  to  grow,  when  they  can  be 
taken  up  carefully,  with  the  dirt  adhering  to  the  roots,  and  set 
out  where  they  are  to  grow,  some  cloudy  day,  or  just  before  a 
rain.  If  I  get  plants  by  mail  at  night  I  heel  them  in  before  I 
go  to  bed. 

I  have  spoken  in  this  chapter  of  late  frosts  injuring  straw- 
berries. Perhaps  I  may  as  well  describe  now  just  how  it  hurts 
them.  The  leaves  are  not  injured  in  the  least ;  but  the  blos- 
soms that  are  touched  by  it  will  usually  be  killed — that  is,  they 
will  produce  no  berries.  If  you  want  to  know  whether  they 
are  injured  after  a  frost,  go  out  after  the  sun  has  shone  on  the 
vines  for  a  few  hours  ;  and  if  the  clump  of  pistils  in  the  center 


26  A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE. 

of  the  flower,  whether  it  is  a  perfect  or  an  imperfect  variety, 
has  turned  black  or  quite  dark,  no  berry  will  come  from  that 
blossom.  The  frost  has  got  the  start  of  you.  Quite  a  good 
many  blossoms  may  be  killed,  however,  if  your  plants  are 
thick  on  the  ground,  and  you  still  get  a  full  crop,  as  the  rest  of 
the  berries  will  grow  larger.  It  is  like  picking  part  of  the  ap- 
ples off  in  June  :  one  may  get  as  many  bushels  in  October,  of 
larger  fruit.  Judge  Miller,  in  Popular  Gardening,  says  a  frost 
is  a  good  thing  to  thin  out  the  fruit,  and  that,  under  some  cir- 
cumstances, it  would  pay  to  hire  children  to  go  through  and 
pick  off  part  of  the  blossoms.  But  I  think  I  will  thin  out  the 
plants,  as  you  will  learn  in  the  back  part  of  the  book,  and  let 
all  blossoms  remain  on  what  are  left,  and  then  hope  that  frost 
may  stay  away,  or  mulch  heavy  and  keep  my  berries  back.  If 
frost  touches  a  berry  after  it  is  set  it  may  destroy  it,  or  it  may 
cause  only  a  portion  of  the  berry  to  wither  and  not  grow  any 
more.  A  frost  will  injure  some  varieties  while  in  the  bud  ; 
they  will  blossom  out  all  right ;  but  when  the  bud  unfolds  you 
will  see  that  the  center  is  black. 


CHAPTER  V. 

MARKING     THE     GROUND — SETTING     THE     PLANTS — THE     DIS- 
TANCE APART. 

We  left  the  land  where  the  plants  were  to  be  set,  very 
thoroughly  harrowed  and  then  rolled.  If  you  haven't  a  roller 
( but  every  farmer  who  has  a  plow  and  a  harrow  should  have ) , 
a  clod-crusher  will  answer.  Remember  it  must  be  very  fine 
and  firm,  if  you  want  the  plants  to  do  their  best  from  the  start. 
If  you  have  any  doubts  about  its  being  in  the  best  shape,  har- 
row and  roll  it  alternately  two  or  three  times  more,  when  the 
land  is  dry  enough  not  to  pack  hard.  Of  course,  you  under- 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE  27 

stand  that  you  must  be  careful  not  to  work  land  that  is  at  all 
heavy,  for  any  crop  when  it  is  even  a  little  too  wet.  It  will 
make  it  hard.  What  we  want  is  a  fine,  mellow  seed-bed,  firm- 
ly packed  There  is  a  difference  between  firm  and  hard. 

Now  take  a  line  and  stretch  through  where  you  want  the 
first  row.  I  have  used  common  binding  twine.  You  want  the 
line  attached  to  a  stake  at  each  end,  of  course.  I  would  put 
the  first  row  three  feet  from  the  edge  of  the  plowed  land.  If 
you  put  it  too  near  the  edge  it  will  bother  you  to  get  through 
with  the  cultivator.  After  the  line  is  stretched  in  place,  take  a 
sharp  stick  (I  have  used  the  end  rod  out  of  my  lumber  wagon, 
which  was  just  the  thing)  and  draw  a  little  mark  right  by  the 
side  of  the  line,  from  end  to  end.  Then  take  the  line  up,  one 
person  at  each  end,  and  put  it  down  four  feet  further  in  on 
your  piece  of  land.  Next,  in  a  few  minutes'  time  you  can 
make  a  little  marker,  something  like  the  one  shown  in  Fig.  6, 
with  which  you  can  go  along  the  rows  you  have  marked  length- 
wise, and  make,  almost  as  fast  as  you  can  walk,  little  cross- 
marks,  to  show  where  to  set  the  plants. 


FIG.  6. — A   MARKER    FOR    SPACING  OFF  ROWS. 

The  first  plants  we  set  out  we  measured  with  a  stick  which 
we  carried  along,  to  get  them  the  right  distance  apart.  This 
was  slow  and  bothersome.  So  my  son  went  to  the  tool-house 
and  made  a  marker  like  the  above,  in  about  ten  minutes,  which 
is  still  in  u^e.*  I  set  the  plants  two  feet  apart.  The  rows  are 

*In  regard  to  the  use  of  the  line-marker,  etc.,  let  me  suggest  that 
market- gardeners  have  a  plan  which  I  think  is  much  simpler.  I«et  your 
line  be  of  pretty  good  size — say  something  like  a  small  clothes-line.  After 
you  have  stretched  it,  walk  the  whole  length  by  stepping  the  whole  length 
upon  the  entire  line.  This  gives  you  a  mark  absolutely  straight.  In  our 


28  ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CUI/TURE. 

four  feet  apart,  and  the  plants  two  feet  in  the  row.  This  is 
about  the  usual  distance  apart  for  matted-row  culture.  Now 
go  to  the  cellar,  or  to  where  you  may  have  heeled  in  your  plants, 
with  a  pail  half  full  of  water.  If  it  is  a  cold  day,  warm  the 
water  slightly  by  putting  in  a  little  that  is  hot,  until  it  feels 
comfortable  to  the  hand.  This  is  for  the  comfort  of  the  one 
setting  out  the  plants.  Next  open  your  plants  and  put  forty  or 
fifty  in  the  water,  being  sure  that  all  roots  are  under  ;  and  if 
the  tops  are  too,  it  will  not  matter.  Cover  the  rest  of  the  plants 
from  the  air  again.  You  are  now  ready  for  setting. 

You  can  make  the  holes  to  put  the  plants  in  with  either  a 
garden-trowel  or  a  brick-layer's  trowel.  But  I  found  it  easier 
to  take  my  narrow  four-inch  spade  (English  ditching-spade), 
stand  on  one  side  of  the  row,  push  the  spade  down  about  five 
inches,  with  the  back  to  the  long  mark,  and  the  front  toward 
me  ;  work  it  back  and  forth  once,  and  then  pull  it  out  with  an 
upward  and  sidewise  pull.  This  makes  a  hole  about  four  inches 
deep,  with  a  nearly  perpendicular  bank  in  line  with  the  row. 
A  man  can  throw  out  the  holes  very  rapidly  in  this  way.  You 
can  make  a  similar  hole  with  a  trowel,  of  course,  but  not  near- 
ly as  easily.  Next  take  one  plant  from  the  pail  of  water ; 
spread  the  roots  out  fan -shaped,  as  in  Fig.  3,  and  with  the  left 
hand  hold  this  plant  against  the  perpendicular  side  of  the  hole. 
With  your  right  hand  take  your  trowel  and  throw  two  or  three 
inches  deep  of  moist  earth  against  the  roots.  Then  press  the 
earth  firmly  against  the  roots,  using  both  hands  on  the  trowel. 
Fill  the  rest  of  the  hole  with  mellow  earth,  leaving  it  loose. 
Never  let  the  strawberry-roots  get  dry,  nor  put  dry  earth  direct- 
tool  house  we  have  a  machine  something  like  a  wheelbarrow  with  a  wheel 
nearly  a  yard  across.  Movable  pins  are  set  in  the  rim  of  this  wheel.  It 
is  wheeled  over  the  line  like  a  wheelbarrow.  Now,  if  you  walk  on  your 
clothes-line  as  you  go  over,  you  will  make  a  plain  mark,  and  the  pins  will 
space  it  accurately.  I  think  a  common  wheelbarrow  will  answer  very  well 
by  winding  some  wire  or  tying  a  cord  around  the  felloe  and  tire,  say  on 
each  opposite  side  of  the  wheel ;  that  is,  supposing  you  can  get  a  wheel- 
barrow with  awheel  of  such  size  that  half  the  circumference  will  be  the 
distance  you  need  the  plants  apart.  We  mark  out  our  ground  by  means 
of  a  two-horse  marker  which  will  be  described  at  the  close  of  this  book. 
—A.  I  R. 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 


29 


ly  against  them.  If  the  surface  is  dry,  scrape  it  off  with  your 
trowel  and  get  moist  soil  to  throw  next  to  the  roots.  Wet  roots 
put  in  moist  soil,  well  firmed  about  the  roots,  and  mellow  or 
loose  on  the  surface,  are  the  best  conditions  possible. 


FIG.    /.—SET  JUST  RIGHT. 


FIG.  8.  —  SET  TOO  DEEP. 


FIG.  9.  —  SET  TOO  SHALLOW. 


Some  people  laugh  at  such  carefulness,  and  say  that 
"  strawberry-plants  will  grow  if  stuck  in  almost  any  way  ;  even 
a  plant  left  lying  on  the  surface,  by  the  person  setting  out,  will 


30  A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CUI/TURE. 

often  take  root."  So  it  will ;  but  let  me  tell  you  that,  when 
you  find  a  man  farming  in  any  such  careless,  slipshod,  trust-to- 
luck  way,  you  will  find  a  man  who  is  not  very  successful  in  his 
business.  "No  paius  no  gains  ;  "  or,  "  Man's  fortunes  are  ac- 
cording to  his  pains."  It  would  be  better  if  the  plants  could 
be  set  out  on  a  cloudy  day,  or  toward  night,  or  just  before  a 
rain  ;  but  where  one  buys  plants  from  a  distance  they  must  be 
set  when  they  come  or  soon  after.  If  you  set  them  just  as  I 
direct,  and  they  are  good  plants,  they  will  not  wilt  a  particle, 
be  the  day  ever  so  bright  and  hot.  Do  no  watering  or  cover- 
ing. If  the  soil  is  very  dry  (but  fine  soil,  well  firmed  in  the 
early  spring,  will  very  seldom  be  so),  pack  it  by  stepping  on  it 
next  to  the  plant,  after  it  is  all  set  out,  and  scrape  a  little  loose 
soil  over  where  you  stepped.  If  you  have  no  trowel  you  can 
get  a  garden-trowel  for  a  few  cents,  or  you  can  make  a  paddle 
of  wood  that  will  answer  to  set  out  a  few  plants. 

Fig.  7  shows  a  plant  properly  placed  in  the  ground.  The 
top  of  the  crown,  where  the  leaves  come  out,  should  be  just 
above  the  surface,  after  the  plant  is  all  set  and  the  soil  leveled 
down  around  it.  The  lines  in  these  figures  indicate  the  surface 
of  the  ground. 

Fig.  8  shows  a  plant  set  too  deep.  Earth  over  the  crown 
will  usually  kill  it,  or  at  least  prevent  its  doing  well.  Fig.  9 
shows  a  plant  set  too  shallow.  The  air  can  get  to  the  roots, 
and  so  can  the  sunshine,  and  the  plant  will  not  do  well  under 
such  conditions.  The  roots  should  all  be  in  the  ground.  I  do 
not  suppose  any  one  would  set  a  plant  quite  as  deep  as  the  one 
in  Fig.  8,  nor  quite  as  shallow  as  shown  by  Fig.  9.  I  have  ex- 
aggerated these  cuts  to  make  the  lesson  plain.  Also  the  leaves 
on  the  plants  are  a  little  more  upright  than  you  will  usually 
find  them  when  setting  out.  They  often  crinkle  down  so  as  to 
be  in  the  way.  Of  coprse,  we  had  to  put  them  up  out  of  the 
way  in  these  pictures  so  as  to  show  you  plainly  just  how  to  do 
the  setting.  Do  not  dig  holes,  except  as  fast  as  you  want  to 
put  in  the  plants,  so  as  to  have  the  soil  that  the  roots  will  touch 


ABC. OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE.  31 

moist.  Take  the  plants  out  of  the  pail  of  water,  only  as  fast 
as  you  are  ready  to  set  them. 

To  find  how  many  plants  you  want,  you  have  only  to  mea- 
sure one  of  the  rows  and  divide  the  number  of  feet  by  two,  and 
then  multiply  by  the  number  of  rows.  Or  if  you  know  the 
amount  of  land,  it  will  be  easy  to  figure,  as  it  will  take  about 
35  plants  to  the  square  rod.  If  you  set  out  500  or  1000  plants, 
and  do  it  well,  you  will  be  likely  to  have  a  first-class  backache 
before  you  get  through,  not  being  used  to  such  work  ;  but  just 
think  of  those  66  meals  with  all  the  great,  large,  delicious,  ripe 
berries  you  can  eat,  and  push  ahead,  and  do  not  slight  your 
work. 

Since  writing  the  above  I  have  been  reading  an  article  in 
the  Rural  New  •  Yorker,  written  by  J.  M.  Smith,  telling  all 
about  how  he  sets  out  strawberry -plants.  I  was  not  surprised 
to  find  that  Mr.  S.  is  extremely  careful  about  how  his  plants 
are  set.  He  would  not  call  what  I  have  written  over-particular. 
He  says:  "  There  are  but  few  things  in  either  the  marketer 
home  garden  that  are  of  more  importance  than  setting  out  the 
plants."  He  also  says  :  "A  few  years  ago,  I  lost  heavily  upon 
some  of  my  strawberry-beds,  owing  to  some  careless  setters 
who,  when  neither  I  nor  my  sons  were  with  them,  merely  open- 
ed the  earth  and  laid  the  long  beautiful  roots  about  two  or  three 
inches  deep  and  covered  them  with  earth.  It  came  on  very 
dry,  and  I  soon  noticed  that  they  were  suffering  more  than 
there  was  any  apparent  reason  for,  even  though  it  was  dry.  In 
fact,  some  of  them  were  dead,  and  many  more  nearly  so.  Upon 
examination  I  soon  found  the  cause  of  the  trouble  ;  but  it  was 
too  late  to  repair  the  damages,  and  the  next  season  I  suffered 
the  loss  of  hundreds  of  dollars  through  the  carelessness  of  the 
men  who  set  those  plants."  You  see  the  .men  were  too  lazy  or 
careless  to  make  the  holes  deep  enough  to  put  the  roots  straight 
down,  or  nearly  so,  so  that  part  of  them  would  be  in  moist 
earth  in  a  dry  time.  Mr.  S.  speaks  of  another  fatal  mistake — 
neglecting  to  press  the  earth  sufficiently  close  around  the  plant 


32  A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

roots.  After  all  this,  my  friends,  it  must  certainly  be  your  own 
fault  if  you  do  not  set  your  strawberry-plants  so  that  they  all 
grow  finely.* 


CHAPTER   VI. 

ABOUT    CULTIVATING   AND     HOEING— CUTTING     BLOSSOMS 
AND   RUNNERS   OFF,  AND   PLACING   RUNNERS. 

There  is  just  one  secret  about  taking  care  of  a  strawberry- 
patch  easily  ;  and  that  is,  never  let  any  weeds  see  daylight. 
Do  this,  and  the  work  will  always  be  pleasant  and  profitable, 
and  it  will  not  take  .a  great  deal  of  time.  I  think  it  was  Mr. 
Putney  who  said  first,  "It  is  cheaper  to  hoe  three  times  than 

*In  regard  to  the  careful  setting-out  of  plants,  last  spring  I  was  visit- 
ing a  strawberry-grower  in  Leelanaw  Co.,  Michigan,  who  grows  several 
acres  every  year  He  was  just  setting  ©ut  a  piece  of  four  acres.  His 
method  of  marking  the  ground  will  be  described  in  the  latter  part  of  this 
book  ;  and  his  way  of  setting  the  plants  in  the  ground  impressed  me  very 
favorably.  The  tool  used  for  making  the  holes  was  a  long  handled  round- 
pointed  spade,  such  as  we  see  in  common  use  among  laborers  who  handle 
dirt.  The  point  of  the  spade  was  pushed  down  vertically,  right  along  the 
line  on  the  spot  where  the  plant  was  to  be  set.  The  dirt  was  then  pulled 
away  from  the  line  so  as  to  leave  a  perpendicular  side  of  fresh  earth— a 
sort  of  half-circle,  say  six  inches  deep,  and  nearly  a  foot  across.  A  plant 
was  then  taken  from  a  bucket  of  water,  the  roots  spread  out  fan-shaped, 
and  held  up  against  this  perpendicular  wall  of  fresh  earth  until  some  of 
the  dirt  that  had  been  scooped  out  had  been  pushed  back  against  the  root 
of  the  plant.  The  operator  then  pressed  the  dirt  down  with  his  foot,  tight 
up  against  the  roots.  The  proprietor  (Mr.  James  Hilbert,  Bingham, 
Mich.),  nade  the  holes  with  the  spade,  and  kept  his  eye  on  the  setters  to 
see  that  every  plant  had  the  roots  properly  spread  out  so  as  to  be  evenly 
distributed  along  this  vertical  wall  of  earth,  and  then  he  watched  to  see 
that  every  man  firmed  the  dirt  aronnd  the  plant  with  his  foot.  I  think 
there  were  about  half  a  dozen  in  the  crowd  setting  plants,  and  the  pro- 
prietor's eye  was  on  almost  every  plant  in  the  whole  28,000  while  they 
were  being  set  out.  I  have  seen  the  plants  several  times  this  summer  ; 
and  although  a  severe  drouth  followed  not  long  after  the  setting,  there  is 
scarcely  a  plant  missing  out  of  the  28,000.  They  were  set  in  April ;  and  at 
this  writing,  Sept.  16,  almost  every  plant  has  a  nice  family  of  liitle  plants 
scattered  to  the  right  and  left.  You  will  notice  this  plan  of  setting  the 
roots  along  a  straight  line  enables  us  to  cultivate  within  an  inch  of  the 
roots — that  is,  shortly  after  they  are  set  out — without  injuring  them.  Of 
course,  the  ground  was  kept  constantly  stirred  so  that  no  crust  should 
form  after  a  rain,  or  no  such  success  could  have  attended  planting  so 
large  a  tract  as  four  acres,  almost  without  the  loss  of  a  plant.  But  the 
next  chapter  considers  the  matter  of  cultivating.— A.  I.  R. 


ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  33 

ouce."  Yes,  and  it  is  pleasanter  too.  The  idea  is,  of  course, 
that,  instead  of  waiting  till  the  weeds  get  well  started,  and 
working  hard  to  hoe  them  up  once,  you  just  rapidly  run  over 
the  mellow  surface  two  or  three  times,  simply  stirring  it  so  no 
weeds  cau  grow  at  all.  This  is  the  way  we  grow  potatoes  ;  it 
is  the  only  correct  way  to  farm,  now,  and  it  is  just  the  way  to 
grow  strawberries.  Read  this  over  and  over  ;  learn  it  by  heart. 
It  will  help  if  the  land  set  out  in  strawberry -plants  was  in 
corn  or  potatoes  or  garden-truck  the  year  previous,  or  corn  one 
year  and  potatoes  the  next,  and  was  kept  entirely  free  from 
weeds.  But  even  if  the  land  is  full  of  foul  weed-seeds  you  can 
keep  them  down  quite  readily  if  you,  never  let  them  get  started 
at  all.  Cultivate  the  ground  once  a  week  or  oftener.  I  would 
not  go  more  than  one  inch  deep  within  6  inches  of  the  plants, 
and  then  in  hoeing  the  little  strip  that  is  left,  that  you  can  not 
cultivate,  I  would  not  hoe  more  than  half  an  inch  deep  right 
around  the  plants.  I  do  not  want  to  disturb  them  at  all — just 
mellow  the  immediate  surface,  and  make  it  fine,  and  prevent 
any  weeds  from  coming  up.  I  set  a  somewhat  careless  man  to 
hoeing  my  strawberries  once,  and  he  did  great  damage  by  hoe- 
ing same  two  inches  deep,  and  breaking  up  the  earth  around 
the  roots  too  much.  Do  not  pull  any  earth  up  around  the 
plants  when  hoeing,  but  leave  it  level  all  the  season,  just  as  it 
was  when  you  finished  setting  them  out.  With  a  little  hilling 
up,  the  rains  may  wash  the  earth  over  the  crowns  and  rot  them 
and  kill  the  plants  My  own  experience  is  that  a  pronged  hoe 
is  the  best  tool  for  stirring  the  soil  between  the  plants  that  the 
cultivator  does  not  reach.  This  is  just  like  a  hoe,  only  there 
are  four  or  five  tines  in  the  place  of  the  blade  of  the  hoe.  The 
potato  hook  that  some  use  to  dig  potatoes  with  is  practically 
the  same  thing.  There  is  no  better  tool  to  stir  soil  about  plants 
with  to  keep  weeds  from  starting  and  to  break  the  crust,  or 
keep  it  from  forming.  This  hoe  is  nice  to  use  among  the  flow- 
ers, etc.,  too.  Walking  backward  I  can  stir  the  little  strip  be- 
tween and  around  strawberry-plants  very  rapidly.  But  this  is 

3 


34  A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE. 

only  for  clean  and  timely  culture.  If  weeds  get  started  once — 
why,  then  we  must  use  a  common  hoe  to  destroy  them.  The 
pronged  hoe  acts  as  a  rake  or  a  weeder  in  the  field. 

Now,  remember  that  just  stirring  the  soil  slightly  to  keep 
weeds  from  growing  or  showing  at  all,  is  nice  work  ;  but  that 
if  you  let  them  once  get  a  good  foothold  you  have  got  either 
defeat  or  a  discouraging  job  before  you.  I  know  how  hard  it 
will  be,  with  the  press  of  work  that  often  comes  on  the  farm, 
to  attend  to  this  matter  always  promptly  ;  but  that  is  the  way, 
and  I  know  you  can  do  it.  The  first  summer  we  had  strawber- 
ries (a  quarter  of  an  acre)  we  took  good  care  of  them  without 
much  trouble  until  haying  and  wheat  harvest  and  potato  culti- 
vating all  came  in  a  lump,  without  a  breathing-spell  between. 
For  two  or  three  weeks  then  we  did  not  have  a  moment  to 
spare  for  the  berries,  as  it  seemed  to  us.  We  were  much  trou- 
bled with  purslain.  During  that  hot  weather  it  got  well  started 
in  these  berries  ;  and  if  we  did  not  have  a  time  cleaning  them 
after  that !  We  picked  up  and  carried  out  bushel  after  bushel, 
as  it  had  got  started  so  well  that  hoeing  would  not  kill  it. 
Well,  we  conquered,  but  at  great  cost.  Since  then  we  have 
taken  time  to  stir  the  soil  hastily,  even  during  harvest  time,  so 
as  to  prevent  the  purslain  from  starting,  and  our  other  work 
has  been  done  all  right  too,  some  way.  Few  men  are  now  do- 
ing so  much  that  they  can  not  do  more  by  a  little  better  man- 
agement or  more  system. 

I  might  say  that  the  soil  we  selected  for  berries,  although 
moist,  is  a  little  better  drained  than  some  portions  of  our  fields. 
During  a  heavy  shower  water  will  collect  in  the  low  places  in 
the  fields  ;  and  although  the  drains  take  it  away  promptly, 
these  spots  are  not  dry  enough  to  cultivate  as  soon  as  the  berry 
ground  where  there  are  no  low  places.  So  we  can  have  two  or 
three  hours  to  work  in  the  berries,  after  a  shower,  before  the 
land  is  dry  enough  to  cultivate  right  through  in  the  field. 
Thus  the  berries  have  had  proper  attention  without  interfering 
at  all  with  field  work,  and  we  have  all  sorts  of  berries  besides 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  35 

strawberries,  and  liberal  quantities  of  them  too.  Did  I  not  tell 
you,  in  a  previous  chapter,  that,  where  there  is  a  will  there  is  a 
way  ?  One  of  those  farmers  who  never  have  any  time  for  such 
j  jbs  stopped  to  talk  with  me  once,  when  I  was  hastily  going 
over  my  fruit-garden,  before  the  fields  were  dry  enough  for  cul- 
tivating. He  looked  with  longing  eyes  at  the  nice  rows  of  ber- 
ries, and  said  it  would  do  for  me  to  fuss  with  such  things  ;  he 
wished  he  had  the  time  ;  but  it  was  no  use  to  think  of  it,  etc. 
Meanwhile  my  man  and  son  kept  the  horse  and  cultivator  brisk- 
ly moving,  and  I  hoed  row  after  row,  long  ones  too  ;  and  before 
that  man's  business  called  him  to  move  on  we  had  cultivated 
and  hoed  over  far  more  ground  than  would  be  necessary  to 
grow  all  the  berries  he  and  his  family  could  possibly  use. 

Some  eighteen  years  ago  we  set  out  a  strawberry-patch, 
without  having  them  in  shape  for  horse  culture,  and  the  result 
was  that  the  money  paid  for  plants  would  have  bought  more 
berries  than  we  ever  picked.  Perhaps  we  had  all  imperfect  va- 
rieties too  ;  I  am  sure  I  do  not  know.  And  I  guess  we  were 
about  like  the  brother  last  spoken  of — hadn't  time  to  fuss  with 
them.  The  "  will  "  was  lacking.  I  suspect  we  have  lots  of 
company  in  that  experience.  I  hope  we  may  have  as  much  in 
our  later  practice.  Man  can  do  almost  any  thing  if  he  sets  out 
with  the  determination  to  conquer. 

Soon  after  your  plants  are  set  out  you  will  see  stems  com- 
ing up  with  buds  on.  There  will  be  little  leaves  on  the  stems 
also.  Cut  off  all  these  stems  as  fast  as  they  appear.  It  will 
weaken  the  plant  to  grow  any  fruit  the  first  year.  What  you 
want  is  to  grow  as  strong  plants  as  you  can,  to  become  parents 
of  other  strong  plants,  which  will  produce  abundant  and  fine 
fruit  the  following  season.  After  a  time  you  will  see  little 
round  shoots  starting  out  from  the  plants  you  set.  These  are 
called  "  runners."  If  allowed  to  grow,  after  running  from  six 
to  ten  inches  (according  to  variety  ;  late  berries  have  long  run- 
ners and  early  ones  shorter,  usually),  they  will  throw  up  leaves 
and  roots  downward,  and  produce  new  plants.  But  you  should 


36  A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

cut  all  these  runners  off  as  fast  as  they  appear,  in  this  latitude, 
until  the  latter  part  of  July  (this  for  farmers,  not  small-fruit 
growers).  Cut  the  runners  as  soon  as  they  start.  Do  not  It  t 
them  exhaust  the  plant  by  growing  out  long,  before  they  are 
cut  off.  Some  one  should  look  over  the  patch  once  in  four  or 
five  days,  and  cut  off  all  blossom-stems  and  runners.  I  use  a 
pair  of  common  shears  for  doing  this. 

Now,  this  gives  you  a  chance  to  cultivate  and  hoe  rapidly, 
and  get  the  weed  seeds  in  the  surface  soil  about  all  sprouted 
and  killed.  After  the  runners  start  it  is  more  work  to  cultivate 
and  hoe,  and  keep  the  ground  clean.  After  harvest  you  will 
have  more  time  ;  then  let  the  runners  grow.  Before  they  take 
root  I  would  go  through  the  patch  occasionally  and  spread  them 
out  around,  something  like  the  spokes  of  a  wheel,  the  old  plant 
being  the  hub.  A  clod  or  a  little  dirt  placed  on  them  will  hold 
them  in  place,  if  they  are  obstinate,  until  they  get  rooted. 
The  object  of  this  placing,  of  course,  is  to  get  plants  all  over 
the  ground,  instead  of  letting  them  grow  five  times  too  thick 
in  some  places  and  none  in  others,  as  they  often  would  natural- 
ly. It  is  strange,  but  the  first  year  we  grew  strawberries  I  knew 
nothing  about  this  helping  of  the  runners  to  cover  the  ground. 
I  had  not  seen  a  word  about  it  in  the  books,  nor  heard  a  word 
about  it  at  the  institutes,  where  many  men  had  told  all  about 
strawberry-growing.  Our  quarter  of  an  acre  had  made  a  splen- 
did growth  ;  but  the  runners  had  gone  out  in  bunches,  or  ropes 
(pulled  around  together  by  the  cultivator  sometimes),  many 
times  too  thick  and  much  of  the  ground  was  bare.  Just  at  that 
time  my  friend  J.  M.  Smith  paid  me  a  visit.  He  told  me  how 
to  fix  those  runners,  and  the  young  folks  worked  for  days  trans- 
planting them,  as  they  had  got  rooted  somewhat,  and  soon  had 
our  bed  in  shape  to  do  its  best.  I  said  to  my  friend  :  "  Mr. 
Smith,  how  is  it  that  I  hever  heard  you  speak  of  this  at  an  in- 
stitute, when  you  were  telling  us  how  to  grow  strawber- 
ries?" 

"  Why,"  he  says,  "  I  was  talking  to  farmers,  and  I   did   not 


A  B  C   OF   STR.YWBERRY   CULTURE.  37 

know  that  they  would  care  to  learn  all  the  little  niceties  of  tbe 
business." 

I  have  given  you  the  best  way,  and  you  can  do  as  you 
please.  If  the  runners  are  entirely  neglected  they  will  produce 
considerable  fruit  ;  but  not  as  much  or  of  as  fine  quality.  A 
plant  every  six  or  eight  inches,  all  over  the  ground,  and  no 
more,  is  best.  I  am  a  little  more  particular  in  this  part  written 
for  farmers  than  I  should  be,  because  I  hope  that  thousands  of 
farmers'  boys  and  girls  will  get  interested  in  strawberry-grow- 
ing, from  reading  these  pages,  and  I  certainly  want  to  advise 
them  to  do  their  very  best  in  whatever  they  undertake.  It  will 
help  greatly  to  make  them  successful  men  and  women  ;  and  al- 
though I  am  only  a  farmer,  I  suspect  that  my  berry -patch  would 
have  to  be  just  as  good  as  I  could  make  it,  even  if  I  grew  only 
enough  for  my  own  use. 

For  a  garden-patch  I  would  not  cultivate  any  more  after  the 
runners  half  covered  the  ground  ;  and  if  the  tillage  was  perfect 
in  the  early  part  of  the  season  you  will  not  usually  need  to  do 
much  more  hoeing.  Let  what  you  do  do,  be  very  shallow. 
Simply  hoe  over  the  ground  that  is  bare,  half  an  inch  deep, 
leaving  the  plants  all  the  soil  possible  to  send  their  roots  out 
in.  They  are  thought  to  be  laying  up  food  in  the  crowns  then, 
to  make  berries  of  next  season.  By  winter  the  ground  should 
be  well  covered  with  strong  plants,  if  the  soil  was  rich.  I 
would  keep  a  path  about  16  inches  wide,  hoed  up  between  the 
rows.  If  you  have  different  kinds  you  must  be  sure  to  do  this, 
to  prevent  the  plants  running  together  and  getting  mixed. 
This  would  do  no  harm  for  fruiting  ;  but  you  want  to  get  pure 
plants  from  your  bed  to  set  out  the  next  spring.  But  of  this 
in  another  chapter. 

Of  course,  when  hoeing,  all  through  the  season,  you  must 

pull  with  your  fingers  any  little  weeds  that  may  get  started  in 

the  hills,  too  close  to  cut  off  with  the  hoe.     There  need  be  very 

little   fingerwork,  however,  \vith   the   hoeing  always   done  on 

ime. 


38  A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

AM,  ABOUT  MULCHING — SPRING  WORK  ON  OI,D  BED— SETTING 
NEW  BED — HOW  TO  TAKE  UP  PLANTS — HOW  TO  EAT  STRAW- 
BERRIES— HOW  TO  CAN  THEM. 

The  first  time  the  ground  freezes  hard  enough  to  bear  up  a 
team,  in  the  late  fall  or  early  winter  (usually  between  the  15th 
of  November  and  the  1st  of  December  here),  the  strawberry- 
plants  should  be  mulched — that  is,  covered  with  some  material 
to  prevent  sudden  freezing  and  thawing  during  the  winter,  or, 
more  particularly,  the  early  spring.  It  is  said  by  some  good 
authorities  that  the  plants  are  perfectly  hardy,  and  do  cot  need 
any  covering,  so  far  as  protecting  them  is  concerned.  But  from 
my  short  experience  I  should  say  that  the  plants  stand  the  win- 
ter better,  and  are  stronger  in  the  spring,  for  being  covered  ; 
and  I  like  to  get  the  covering  on  before  the  frost  has  killed  all 
the  leaves.  But  the  main  object  of  covering  is  to  prevent  the 
frost  from  lifting  the  plants. 

On  your  garden  patch,  probably  the  best  mulching  mate- 
rial you  can  use  is  your  strawy  horse  manure,  if  there  are  not 
too  many  seeds  in  it.*  Shake  it  up  very  finely  and  spread  all 
over  the  ground,  just  thick  enough  so  you  can  not  see  the  plants 
through  it.  Spread  over  the  paths  between  the  rows  as  well  as 
over  the  rows.  If  your  land  is  rich  enough,  or  manure  is  scarce, 

*  In  conversing  with  friend  Terry  in  regard  to  straw  for  mulch,  I  ask- 
ed him  what  he  did  to  prevent  getting  grains  of  wheat  left  by  poor  thrash- 
ing. He  replied,  first,  that  he  did  not  have  poor  thrashers ;  second,  that 
the  straw  was  first  thrown  on  to  a  platform  of  rails  in  order  to  shake  out 
all  the  grain  as  far  as  possible,  that  might  be  left.  In  purchasing  straw  of 
the  farmers  I  have  been  greatly  annoyed  by  the  amount  of  grain  left  in 
it  ;  and  on  one  occasion,  when  my  strawberries  were  mulched  with  rye 
straw,  enough  rye  came  up  among  the  berries,  after  fruiting,  so  that  it  was 
cut  and  thrashed,  and  it  gave  me  a  good  yield.  Of  course,  I  was  so  much 
ahead  on  my  crop  of  rye,  but  I  am  sure  I  was  a  good  deal  more  behind  on 
the  berries  in  consequence  of  the  rank  growth  of  grain  in  my  berry-crop. 
Whatever  you  do,  don't  use  any  kind  of  mulch  for  your  strawberries,  un- 
less you  know  it  is  free  from  seeds  of  weeds  and  grass,  grain,  etc.— A.  I.  R. 


ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE.  39 

use  marsh  hay  (because  there  are  no  seeds  in  it),  or,  what 
will  be  handiest  for  most  farmers,  wheat  straw,  spreading  it 
evenly  over  the  bed,  just  so  you  can  not  see  through.  Do  not 
leave  any  bunches  of  either  straw  or  manure,  or  you  may 
smother  some  plants.  I  have  heard  of  mice  destroying  straw- 
berry-plants on  a  mulched  patch  ;  but  they  have  never  got  into 
mine.  We  use  wheat  straw  for  mulching.  Our  fields  are  kept 
very  clean,  so  there  is  no  chance  for  mice  to  hide,  and  I  think 
you  will  hardly  find  one  at  any  time  within  fifty  rods  of  our 
strawberries.  Where  they  are  abundant  I  would  try  a  light 
coat  of  cut  straw  for  mulching,  not  over  an  inch  or  so  deep.  I 
never  have  any  mice  in  my  stubble  (wheat  stubble,  newly  seed- 
ed), because  we  mow  them  once  or  twice  ;  and  all  the  growth 
falls  down  and  partly  decays,  hugging  the  ground  closely. 
Mice  will  not  come  into  such  a  field.  They  are  too  exposed. 
Cut  straw  will  lie  down  closely  about  the  strawberry-plants,  af- 
fording less  shelter  to  the  mice  from  the  eyes  of  hawks.  In 
the  spring,  after  freezing  weather  is  about  over,  select  a  wet 
day  and  rake  about  half  the  straw  (if  long  straw  was  used)  off 
from  the  plants,  and  tread  it  down  in  the  paths  between  the 
rows.  You  can  do  this  best  when  it  is  wet.  The  plants  will 
grow  up  through  the  other  half,  with  a  little  help.  If  there 
are  any  bare  spots,  leave  all  the  straw  on  them.  You  must 
watch,  and  not  wait  too  long  before  removing  part  of  the  straw 
from  the  plants.  If  they  grow  much  under  the  straw  it  will  be 
a  white,  feeble,  tender  growth  ;  and  taking  the  straw  off  then 
would  leave  the  plants  liable  to  injury  by  a  frost,  or  the  hot 
sun.  Remove  the  straw,  then,  before  they  make  much  new 
growth.  Do  it  in  rainy,  cloudy  weather,  so  they  can  get  a  lit- 
tle used  to  outdoor  weather  before  the  sun  strikes  them.  If 
you  use  manure  for  mulch,  and  shake  it  very  finely,  you  may 
not  need  to  remove  much.  The  plants  may  find  their  way  up 
through  it  all  right.  I  like  to  have  all  the  mulch  left  on  them 
that  they  can  comfortably  grow  up  through.  You  will,  of 
course,  keep  watch  and  help  any  plants  that  find  trouble  in 


40  ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CUI/TURE. 

pushing  their  way  up  through  the  manure,  or  the  straw  either. 
This  help  will  consist  in  simply  opening  or  removing  the  cov- 
ering a  little,  where  you  may  see  a  plant  raising  it  up  instead 
of  coming  through.  This  manure,  or  straw,  on  the  surface, 
will  serve  two  important  ends.  First,  it  will  keep  the  fruit 
clean.  Soil  is  a  good  thing,  but  I  do  not  like  to  eat  it  directly. 
Sugar  is  preferable  on  berries.  Mulched  as  I  have  directed, 
your  berries  should  be  always  perfectly  clean  ;  the  rain  can  not 
spatter  any  dirt  on  them.  To  be  sure,  the  berries  can  be  wash- 
ed ;  but  the  best  way  is  to  fix  it  so  they  can  not  get  dirty.  And 
then,  again,  if  it  is  a  dry  year  it  will  keep  the  ground  more 
moist,  and  thus  increase  the  crop.  Perhaps  you  may  think 
that  manure  would  not  be  just  the  proper  thing  for  a  mulch  to 
keep  berries  clean.  But  all  filthiness  will  be  Mashed  out  by 
the  rains  long  before  the  berries  are  ripe  Any  weeds  that  may 
start  in  the  bed  in  the  spring  may  be  pulled  up  or  cut  off. 
There  should  not  be  many  if  the  tillage  the  season  before  wes 
thorough.* 


*This  matter  of  getting  the  seeds  of  weeds  into  the  strawberry-patch 
along  with  mulching  has  made  so  much  trouble  that  a  great  variety  of 
material  has  been  used  in  place  of  straw  and  strawy  manure.  Friend  Ter- 
ry has  alluded  to  marsh  hay.  We  have  had  very  good  success  with  corn- 
stalks. In  this  case  the  mulching  was  not  removed  in  the  spring  at  all. 
The  berry-plants  climbed  up  through  it.  Some  strawberry-growers  use 
green  corn  fodder.  The  corn  is  sown  broadcast  close  to  the  patch,  so  as  to 


be  just  right  to  cut  and  spread  between  the  rows  just  as  the  fruit  is  begin- 
ning to  ripen.  But  by  far  the  most  satisfactory  material  we  have  ever 
used  is  dry  potato-tops.  When  you  dig  your  potatoes,  rake  up  the  vines 
and  put  them  in  heaps  somewhere  out  of  the  wav  and  near  the  strawber- 
ry-patch. As  soon  as  the  ground  freezes,  cover  the  whole  bed  with  these 
dried-up  potato-vines  as  thickly  as  you  choose.  They  will  not  smother  the 
strawberries,  and  they  contain  no  weed  seeds,  and  they  need  not  be  re- 
moved in  the  spring,  for  the  plants  will  grow  up  through  them.  If  put 
on  just  right  you  can  see  the  green  foliage  down  through  the  potato  top 
mulching  all  winter  long.  They  hold  the  snow  better  than  any  thing  else 
I  know  of,  and  they  never  settle  down  so  compact  as  to  smo'her  the  plants 


and  make  them  rot.    In  our  potato-book  you  will  see  mention  made  of  a 
late  s'rong-growing  potato  called    the  Craig.     I  often   find  vii 
enough  late  in  the  fall  to  pull  them  up  and  wind  them  about  my  necl 


while  the  other  end  remains  in  the  ground.  This  potato  makes  a  very 
large  amount  of  tops.  After  digging  they  can  be  raked  up  with  a  horse- 
rake,  and  handled  with  a  pitchfork,  so  it  is  very  little  trouble  to  put  them 
on  strawberries.  Potato-tops,  when  they  decay,  furnish  a  large  amount  of 
potash,  and  this  just  suits  the  strawberry. — A.  I.  R. 


A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY   GUI/TURK.  41 

When  the  plants  come  to  bloom,  examine  them  and  seethe 
difference  between  the  perfect  and  imperfect  flowers.  I  would 
advise  that  you  set  out  another  bed  in  the  spring,  prepared  as 
before,  with  large  nice  plants  from  your  own  bed.  Do  not  take 
any  of  the  old  original  plants,  with  their  black  roots.  I  think 
it  better,  take  it  all  around,  to  set  out  a  new  bed  each  year  than 
to  try  to  clean  out  the  old  one.  You  have  then  the  best  of 
plants  to  set  out,  of  your  own  growing.  If  you  keep  a  bed  two 
or  more  years,  the  plants  then  would  not  be  such  as  I  would 
set  out.  You  should  always  have  plants  that  have  never  borne 
fruit,  grown  from  plants  that  also  produced  none.*  Again, 
enemies  are  becoming  abundant  in  strawberry-beds,  and  the 
longer  we  leave  them  the  greater  chance  they  have.  Also, 
treated  as  I  have  advised,  you  will  get  the  largest  crop  and  fin- 
est berries  the  first  season  you  pick  a  bed. 

You  may  not  know  how  to  take  up  plants.  I  use  a  four- 
tined  potato-fork,  sticking  it  down  by  the  side  of  a  few  plants 
as  you  would  to  dig  a  hill  of  potatoes  ;  then  lift  up  the  plants, 
dirt  and  all,  and  shake  them  on  the  fork  until  most  of  the  dirt 
is  off.  If  it  is  very  dry  weather,  on  heavy  soil  it  pays  to  water 
heavily,  the  night  before,  the  plants  you  wish  to  take  up.  If 
you  have  no  potato-fork  you  might  take  up  a  few  with  a  spade. 
Many  growers  use  the  old-fashioned  potato-hooks  that  used  to 
be  used  for  digging  potatoes.  After  shaking  the  plants  clean, 
cut  the  roots  off  at  the  bottom,  leaving  four  inches  on  the 

*  I  fear  the  above  sentence  will  not  be  understood  and  acted  on  unless 
I  put  a  little  more  emphasis  on  it.  It  is  very  exhaustive  work  for  straw- 
berry-plants to  bear  a  big  crop  of  fruit.  After  the  fruit  season  is  over  the 
plant  withers  up,  gets  rusty,  and  for  quite  a  time  looks  almost  dead.  Now, 
if  you  pick  all  the  blossoms  off  so  the  plant  can  not  bear  any  fruit  it  is 
spared  from  this  exhaustive  process.  It  keeps  its  leaves  bright  and  green, 
and  it  sends  out  strong  and  thrifty  runners  much  earlier  than  it  would 
have  done  had  it  borne  a  crop  of  fruit.  Therefore,  to  get  the  be&t  plants 
you  must  secure  them  from  parent  plants  that  have  never  been  allowed  to 
bear.  Set  apart  a  portion  of  your  bed,  or,  better  still,  have  a  nursery  for 
growing  plants  where  the  parent  plants  have  plenty  of  room,  say  none  of 
them  nearer  than  a  foot,  and  where  they  are  not  allowed  to  bear  a  single 
berry.  This  should  be  extra-strong  ground  :  then  you  will  have  strong 
bright  young  thrifty  plants,  ready  to  put  out  either  in  the  spring  or  in  the 
fall,  and  plants  that  will  "  get  right  down  to  business."— A.  I.  R. 


42  A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

plant — this  for  early  spring.  In  the  summer,  leave  them  all  on 
so  they  can  go  down  deeper.  The  old  roots  do  not  grow  after 
you  set  out  the  plants  ;  but  they  keep  the  plants  alive  until  new 
ones  can  start.  Trim  of!  all  dead  leaves  and  runners,  as  they 
will  be  in  the  way  when  setting  the  plants  out.  After  shaking 
all  dirt  off,  place  the  choice  plants  in  a  pail  of  water,  to  take 
over  to  set  in  your  new  bed.  Mr.  Crawford  says  he  would 
shake  all  dirt  off  any  way,  to  get  rid  of  any  worms  that  might 
be  in  the  roots,  to  save  transplanting  them  to  the  new  bed. 
He  pulled  up  some  plants  on  his  grounds,  and  showed  me  the 
little  enemy  that  was  not  wanted,  quietly  suggesting  that  shak- 
ing thoroughly,  and  keeping  in  water,  was  bad  for  him.  Skill 
is  better  than  luck  to  trust  to.  Of  course,  you  will  understand 
that  the  roots  of  your  plants  should  not  be  exposed  to  sun  and 
wind  when  you  are  taking  them  up.  Some  growers  throw 
them  into  a  wet  bag  as  fast  as  taken  up,  and  remove  them  to  a 
cellar  to  trim.  But  we  trim  them  right  on  the  ground,  one 
person  taking  them  up  while  two  trim  and  put  in  water,  having 
a  plant  exposed  but  a  few  seconds.  For  transplanting  in  your 
own  grounds,  use  such  care  as  I  have  spoken  of,  and  your  plants 
will  grow  right  along,  every  single  one  of  them,  as  though  they 
had  not  been  moved. 

There  are  many  ways  of  growing  strawberries.  The  farm- 
er will  not  care  to  be  perplexed  with  the  details  and  advantages 
of  the  different  systems.  I  have  given  you  a  good,  simple,  and 
safe  way  to  grow  berries  for  your  own  use.  All  is  now  told,  I 
believe,  except  how  to  eat  the  berries  and  how  to  can  them. 
Go  out  some  morning  while  they  are  cool  and  moist  with  the 
early  dew,  and  bring  in  for  breakfast  a  quart  for  each  member 
of  the  family,  of  great,  large,  dead-ripe  Downings  or  Bubachs 
or  Jessies.  Put  on  sugar  and  cream  if  you  will,  but  it  can 
hardly  improve  them.  After  trying  this  princely  way  of  living 
for  66  straight  meals,  or  longer,  own  up  that  you  never  knew 
what  luxury  was  when  you  bought  your  berries,  now  and  then 
a  few  quarts  (picked  before  they  were  fully  ripe,  and  common 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE.  43 

fruit  like  the  Crescents),  or  depended  on  a  little  neglected  patch 
a  few  feet  square  only.  Do  not  forget  to  send  a  big  mess  to 
each  of  your  neighbors  who  do  not  grow  them  yet.  I  have  al- 
lowed plenty  of  land,  so  you  can  have  enough.  Offer  them 
some  plants  to  set  out  the  next  spring  ;  lend  them  this  book  ; 
help  them  up  to  where  you  have  got. 

Some  have  called  the  writer  extravagant  for  using  berries 
so  freely.  Well,  friends,  I  use  no  liquor,  not  even  preserved  (?) 
cider,  and  no  tobacco  ;  drink  no  tea  and  coffee,  even  ;  and  if 
you  can  not  let  me  eat  what  strawberries  I  can  grow  on  two  or 
three  square  rods  of  ground,  why,  then  I  shall  have  to  do  it 
without  your  letting.  This  is  a  free  country,  and  I  live  on  my 
own  little  bit  of  it,  and  I  am  going  to  enjoy  all  the  nice  things 
that  God  has  given  us  that  I  can  raise  ;  and  I  am  not  going  to 
eat  ten  parts  bread  to  one  of  berries,  as  I  had  to  when  a  boy, 
but  just  make  the  proportion  to  suit  myself. 

Canned  strawberries,  of  course,  do  not  have  the  flavor  and 
deliciousness  of  fresh  ones.  But  in  the  winter  and  early  spring, 
when  we  can  not  get  fresh  ones,  a  few  canned  ones  would  be 
relished  by  most  people.  There  is  a  peculiar  acid  flavor  to 
them  that  is  very  pleasing  for  variety,  and  to  the  writer,  at 
least,  certainly  healthful.  I  get  very  much  used  up  attending 
farmers'  institutes  winters.  Often  when  I  get  home  Saturday 
night  I  feel  as  though  I  could  not  eat  a  mouthful  of  any  thing. 
Not  long  since  I  returned  home  late  one  evening  in  this  shape, 
and  wife  said  :  "  What  can  I  get  you  to  eat  ?  " 

I  replied,  "  I  do  not  want  to  see  a  particle  of  any  thing;" 
but  nevertheless  she  got  me  a  can  of  strawberries  and  some 
nice  bread  and  butter  and  a  glass  of  milk,  not  whitened  water 
such  as  I  get  at  the  hotels,  and  as  soon  as  I  saw  the  berries  I 
felt  better.  Quite  a  hole  was  made  in  that  can.  No  fruit  agrees 
with  me  so  thoroughly  well  as  the  strawberry,  fresh  when  it  can 
be  had,  and  canned  occasionally,  after  the  fresh  ones  are  gone. 
But  we  are  not  all  built  alike.  My  wife  cares  little  for  canned 
strawberries.  Some  who  read  this  will  not  care  for  them  ;  but 


44  ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

I  think  most  people  will,  if  the  berries  are  properly  canned, 
and  that  they  will  find  them  a  healthful  sauce.  They  are  rath- 
er expensive  when  one  has  to  buy  them,  sometimes ;  but  the 
farmer  who  grows  them  need  not  mind  this.  He  can  have 
plenty  if  he  likes  them.  L,et  him  make  money  from  his  farm 
crops,  but  take  care  of  his  little  fruit-garden  for  his  own  plea- 
sure, first  of  all,  and  that  of  his  family.  As  friend  Root  puts 
it  :  "  Thank  God  that  there  is  one  place  where  he  isn't  work- 
ing for  the  almighty  dollar."  The  last  two  seasons  we  (I  mean 
"  we,"  literally,  for  I  always  come  in  and  help  if  possible)  put 
up  about  80  quarts  each  year.  Not  one  quart  has  ever  spoiled. 
We  think  them  about  right,  so  I  will  tell  you  just  how  we  did 
it. 

After  picking  over  good  ripe  berries,  we  take  a  common 
coffee-cup,  full  of  granulated  sugar,  to  each  two  quarts  of  hull- 
ed berries,  and  fill  a  porcelain-lined  kettle  about  two -thirds 
full.  No  water  is  put  in.  The  kettle  is  stood  on  back  of  the 
stove  until  sugar  dissolves.  Then  we  put  it  on  in  front  and 
bring  it  to  the  boiling-point,  and  boil  slowly  for  about  twenty 
minutes,  stirring  very  carefully  so  as  not  to  break  the  berries. 
The  most  of  the  stirring  necessary  is  to  help  the  berries  on  top 
down  into  the  syrup,  so  as  to  be  sure  all.  are  well  cooked. 
While  this  kettlef  ul  is  boiling  we  set  another  mess  on  the  back 
of  the  stove  in  a  tin  pan,  for  the  sugar  to  dissolve  and  to  warm 
up  a  little,  so  it  will  be  ready  to  put  into  the  kettle  and  boil  as 
soon  as  the  first  kettleful  is  canned.  This,  of  course,  is  to  hur- 
ry up  the  business.  From  the  kettle,  the  berries  are  dipped 
into  glass  cans,  and  the  tops  screwed  on  in  the  usual  way.  My 
wife  is  very  careful  in  dipping  them  and  putting  in  the  can  to 
not  mHsh  up  the  berries.  She  thinks  they  look  so  much  better 
when  they  keep  their  shape.  You  will  find  some  varieties  of 
berries  better  for  canning  than  others.  We  find  some  cans 
look  better  than  others,  and  the  flavor  is  better.  Our  Sterlings 
are  good.  The  Warfield  is,  I  think,  about  the  same.  The  old 
Wilson  is  good.  When  cool,  and  all  covers  have  been  tight- 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE.  45 

ened  over,  the   cans  are  put  away  in  a  dark   cupboard  in  the 
cellar. 

And  now  perhaps  the/armer  will  not  care  for  the  rest  of 
this  book  ;  but  read  the  first  part  of  the  next  chapter,  any  way, 
for  it  may  do  you  good. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

CAN  FARMERS  GROW  BERRIES  TO  SELL?  NO  AND  YES — PRO- 
FESSIONAL MEN  AND  VILLAGE  PEOPLE  (LADIKS  AS  WELI, 
AS  MEN)  ADVISED  TO  GROW  STRAWBERRIES  FOR  RECREA- 
TION, AND  TO  IMPROVE  THEIR  HEALTH — HILL  CULTURE 
USUALLY  BEST  FOR  SUCH— FRUIT-BEARING  FLOWERS. 

I  heard  a  good  German  friend  say  once,  at  an  institute, 
that  mixed  farming  and  berry-growing  didn't  splice.  He  was 
correct.  On  most  farms  there  would  be  the  clover  to  cut,  and 
the  corn  and  potatoes  needing  constant  cultivation,  and  wheat 
harvest  coming  right  on,  all  this  at  just  the  time  when  the  new- 
ly set  strawberry-beds  must  have  frequent  tillage,  and  the  ber- 
ries from  the  old  ones  must  be  picked  and  marketed  daily,  or 
the  fruit  lost.  Truly,  under  these  circumstances,  ordinarily, 
the  berries  had  better  be  left  alone.  A  few  things  well  done 
pay  better  than  more  half  done.  But  if  the  farmer  has  children 
whom  he  does  rot  need  at  other  work,  large  enough  to  set  out 
the  plants,  cut  the  runners  and  blossoms  off,  pull  the  weeds, 
pick  the  fruit,  and  perhaps  do  some  of  the  hoeing,  and  has  a 
home  market  for  his  sxirplus,  he  might  sometimes,  when  pre- 
paring the  ground  for  his  own  patch,  fix  up,  say,  a  quarter  of 
an  acre  and  gh*j  the  children  a  little  business  to  attend  to.  It 
would  be  lit  lie  more  trouble  for  the  farmer  if  the  piece  were 
the  right  shape  (long  and  narrow),  to  cultivate  40  rods,  or  even 
80,  than  20,  after  he  had  got  hitched  up  ready.  Of  course, 
every  one  could  not  do  this  or  there  would  be  no  market  for 


46  A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

the  surplus  ;  but  there  are  thousands  of  farms  where  it  could 
be  done.  The  consumers  could  get  nicer,  riper,  fresher  berries, 
and  the  young  people  make  quite  a  little  spending  money. 
Our  people  are  fast  becoming  more  of  a  fruit-eating  people. 
In  many  small  towns  several  farmers  could  make  a  good  mar- 
ket for  a  small  surplus  of  berries,  particularly  if  they  were  ex- 
tra nice.  In  a  great  many  towns  the  berries  come  from  the 
large  cities,  where  they  have  been  sent  by  those  who  grow  in  a 
large  way.  The  home  grower  could  cut  out  such  trade  without 
any  trouble,  and  then,  in  a  great  many  towns  where  but  few 
berries  are  now  sold,  a  market  could  be  gradually  made  for 
more. 

Now,  this  isn't  preaching  not  founded  on  practice.  Let 
me  tell  you  just  what  we  have  done  ourselves.  In  the  spring 
of  1887  we  put  out  a  quarter  of  an  acre  of  strawberries.  My 
two  daughters  and  son  did  the  most  of  the  work  of  setting  out 
and  caring  for  them,  and  about  all  the  picking ;  at  any  rate, 
"the  writer  did  not  do  any.  He  helped  some  about  the  market- 
ing. The  cultivating  was  done  for  them,  as,  when  we  were  cul- 
tivating the  rest  of  the  field,  which  was  in  potatoes,  we  went 
right  through  the  strawberries  too.  It  was  hardly  any  extra 
trouble.  My  man  and  myself  helped  some  about  the  hoeing 
also.  The  strip  set  out  was  about  3  rods  by  14.  They  were  set 
out  and  cared  for  just  as  I  have  advised  in  the  first  chapters  of 
this  book.  Do  not  think  it  was  all  play,  though.  Four  of  us 
worked  hard  all  day  setting  out  the  plants  (oh  the  backache  ! ), 
and  then  did  not  get  through.  An  expert  would  have  put  them 
out  in  three  or  four  hours  ;  but  we  did  it  well,  any  way.  They 
all  grew  nicely.  Our  young  folks  had  the  promise  of  the  mon- 
ey from  berries  sold.  They  had  charge  of  the  business  ;  and 
their  books,  neatly  kept,  show  that  they  sold,  for  cash,  berries 
to  the  amount  of  $83.57.  We  ate  and  canned  about  13  bushels. 
These  could  have  been  sold,  choice  berries  as  they  were,  for 
$50 ;  so  the  actual  cash  returns  from  that  little  patch  of  land 
were  $133.  The  berries  were  sold  at  wholesale  to  dealers  in 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  47 

town,  not  at  retail.  In  another  chapter  you  will  find  that  qual- 
ity had  much  to  do  with  finding  us  a  ready  sale  in  a  market 
oversupplied  with  a  common  shipping  grade  of  berries.  Our 
crop  was  not  a  large  one.  We  were  entirely  green  at  the  busi- 
ness, practically.  Too  many  plants  were  allowed  to  grow  in 
our  matted  rows,  for  one  thing.  Again,  there  were  three  nights 
in  June  when  the  leaves  of  the  vines  froze  stiff,  and  the  blos- 
soms on  one  variety  were  seriously  injured.  Then  the  rust  hurt 
another  kind.  An  old  grower  who  called  here  and  looked  them 
over  said  the  frost  killed  at  least  a  half  (we  live  in  an  unusually 
frosty  locality),  and  the  rust  would  considerably  reduce  our 
yield.  But  with  all  these  discouragements  the  above  success 
was  attained,  the  first  time  trying.  What  we  had  for  our  own 
use  would  have  paid  well  for  the  rent  of  land,  plants,  labor, 
etc. ;  so  the  $83  was  clear  profit.  The  young  folks  had  every 
cent  of  it.  It  was  not  "  their  calf  and  father's  cow."  There 
was  nothing  fancy  or  beyond  the  reach  of  any  bright  boy  or 
girl  in  the  way  this  crop  was  grown. 

Matthew  Crawford,  who  can  be  depended  on,  told  the  writ- 
er that  he  knew  a  woman  over  60  years  old  who  grew,  that 
same  season,  a  quarter  of  an  acre  of  strawberries  that  brought 
her  $145,  besides  furnishing  enough  for  family  use,  and  a  good 
many  for  friends.  I  can  easily  believe  this,  as,  if  we  had  had 
no  late  frosts,  our  own  yield  would  almost  certainly  have  been 
as  great.  Now,  I  hope  these  experiences  may  encourage  hun- 
dreds of  young  people  who  are  situated  so  they  can  do  some- 
thing of  this  kind  to  start  out ;  but  they  had  better  not  expect 
as  large  returns  as  these,  for  it  is  better  to  be  disappointed  the 
right  way.  And  still,  to  be  truthful,  I  know  of  cases  where, 
beyond  all  doubt,  very  much  larger  yields  have  been  grown  on 
acres,  when  managed  by  an  expert.  This  is  told  to  encourage 
you,  my  young  friends,  if  at  first  you  do  not  succeed,  do  not 
stop  short  of  a  pretty  high  round  in  the  ladder.  The  remain- 
ing chapters  in  this  book  are  for  any  young  friends  or  others 
who  may  grow  some  strawberries  to  sell,  and  are  interested  in 


48  A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

studying  over  the  different  points  that  come  up  to  one  who  is 
trying  to  do  his  best.  But  before  going  en,  just  a  word  to  tcwn 
people  who  may  happen  to  see  these  pages. 

There  is  a  story  told  of  St.  John  which  is  not  in  the  Biblt-,. 
but  which  we  have  good  reason  to  think  is  genuine.  It  is  said, 
that  while  he  was  residing  at  Ephesus  there  came  one  day  a 
sportsman  who  had  heard  so  much  of  this  wise  old  man  that 
he  went  out  of  his  way  to  see  him  ;  and  his  surprise  was  great 
when  ke  found  St.  John  engaged  in  gently  stroking  a  par- 
tridge which  he  held  in  his  hand.  The  sportsman  could  not 
help  telling  how  surprised  he  was  to  see  so  great  a  man  em- 
ployed on  anything  so  small.  Then  St.  John  said:  "What 
have  you  in  your  hand  ?  " 

"A  bow,"  replied  the  sportsman. 

St.  John  asked,  "  Why  is  it  not  bent  ? " 

The  sportsman  replied  :  "  Because  if  always  bent  it  would 
lose  its  strength." 

"That  is  just  the  reason,"  said  St.  John,  "why  I  play  with 
the  partridge.  It  is  that  my  mind  may  be  kept  strong  by  not 
being  always  at  work." 

Now,  we  have  thousands  of  ministers,  doctors,  lawyers, 
business  men,  clerks,  etc.,  in  our  town,  who  need  to  rest  their 
minds  with  something  that  is  an  entire  change.  Many  of  them 
have  garden-plots,  or  at  least  a  little  land  where  they  could 
grow  strawberries.  Would  that  they  could  be  interested  in  this 
most  delightful  pursuit.  Allowing  me  to  judge,  it  would  be 
far  ahead  of  St.  John's  plan  for  recreation.  There  would  be 
profit  in  it  as  well  as  pleasure.  There  would  be  exercise  in  the 
pure  sunlight,  and  contact  with  mother  earth — the  best  medi- 
cine in  the  world.  There  is  something  that  can  be  done  on  a 
strawberry-bed  almost  every  day,  from  the  time  spring  opens 
until  winter  closes  in.  The  strawberry  is  so  lovely  and  refined 
that  no  lady  need  be  ashamed  to  be  in  its  company.  We  have 
amateur  growers  who  have  come  to  love  this  method  of  recrea- 
tion, and  who  from  constant  daily  attention  have  grown  berries 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  49 

seven  inches  or  more  in  circumference,  and  a  jield  per  square 
rod,  or  hill,  that  I  would  hardly  dare  mention. 

Again,  there  are  a  great  many  village  people  who  have 
their  gardens,  but  no  horse  to  cultivate  with  (where  they  have 
a  horse,  of  course  they  can  cultivate  berries  on  the  same  plan 
that  is  given  in  the  first  chapters  of  this  book,  for  farmers). 
All  of  these  can  grow  strawberries  successfully  ;  but  they 
should  be  set  out  a  little  differently  from  where  horse  culture 
is  to  be  used,  and  treated  in  a  different  way.  For  this  class  of 
growers,  as  well  as  for  ministers,  doctors,  etc.,  I  should  advise 
hill  culture.  Set  the  plants,  say,  in  rows  2  feet  apart,  and  15 
to  18  inches  in  rows,  and  keep  the  ground  properly  stirred  be- 
tween them  by  hand.  If  the  land  is  rich  enough  (and  I  would 
make  it  very  rich  for  this  method  of  growing)  they  will  almost 
cover  it,  and  give  very  large  fine  berries.  One  should  get  va- 
rieties suitable  for  hill  culture  and  the  soil  where  they  are  to 
be  grown.  Near-by  reliable  growers  could  advise  best  on  these 
points.  Of  course,  all  runners  are  to  be  kept  off  during  the 
entire  season,  when  strawberries  are  grown  in  this  way.  A 
good  wheel-hoe  could  be  used  to  advantage,  such  as  the  Planet 
Jr.  When  kept  in  hills  on  nice  rich  ground,  the  plants  will 
stool  out  and  form  immense  hills.  I  have  had  them  grow  in  a 
single  season  from  18  inches  to  2  feet  across.  These  hills  can 
be  kept  for  two  or  three  years,  if  desired,  although  they  will 
probably  yield  the  best  the  first  season  they  bear.  I  would  set 
out  the  plants  in  the  spring,  the  same  as  recommended  to  farm- 
ers, in  former  chapters,  although,  with  rich  soil  and  constant 
care,  half  a  crop  could  be  obtained  from  early  fall  setting. 

When  a  person  in  a  village  has  to  hire  all  the  work  done 
by  one  who  is  not  an  expert,  and  where  he  does  not  understand 
all  about  it  himself,  it  would  probably  be  better  economy,  finan- 
cially, to  buy  his  berries.  But  if  he  could  interest  himself  in 
the  study  of  the  strawberry,  and  its  habits  and  wants,  and  do 
all  the  work  himself,  or  nearly  all,  then  it  might  be  made  to 
pay  in  cash  as  well  as  better  health,  oftentimes,  and  real  enjoy- 


50  A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

ment.  The.  writer  was  visiting  at  a  home  in  one  of  our  large 
cities  once,  where  there  was  a  blooming,  rosy-cheeked  young 
lady.  She  showed  me  just  &  square  rod  oi  land,  no  more,  which 
she  had  attended  to  all  alone,  and  from  which  she  had  picked 
108  quarts  of  delicious  strawberries  that  were  measured,  besides 
some  that  were  eaten  right  from  the  vines,  and  this  in  a  single 
season.  These  berries  were  worth  to  them  $15  ;  but  that  was  a 
very  small  part  of  the  enjoyment  this  lady  got  out  of  them. 
Of  course,  to  yield  like  this  they  received  the  best  treatment 
known  to  the  art.  She  treated  them  somewhat  as  the  man  did 
who,  some  years  ago,  received  the  prize  offered  for  growing  the 
largest  quantity  of  berries  from  a  dozen  plants  of  a  new  variety. 
As  nearly  as  I  can  now  remember,  he  said  he  watered  and  fed 
them  as  regularly  as  he  did  his  horse.  I  have  had  two  letters 
from  another  city  lady  whose  health  has  been  very  poor  for 
years.  She  has  two  or  three  rods  of  strawberries  now,  in  which 
she  is  deeply  interested.  It  begins  to  look  as  though  strawber- 
ry culture  might  cheat  the  doctors  out  of  any  further  job. 
Many  people  who  raise  flowers  might  get  as  much  enjoyment 
out  of  strawberries  on  a  part  of  the  ground.  A  neatly  kept 
strawberry-bed  would  not  be  out  of  place  anywhere.  If  there 
is  any  prettier  flower-bed  in  Ohio  to-day  than  our  strawberry- 
patch,  new  in  full  bloom,  I  should  like  to  see  it.  We  like  oth- 
er flowers.  We  used  to  have  five  beds  on  the  lawn  for  them. 
This  spring  we  sodded  over  all  but  two  of  them.  We  are  get- 
ting more  interested  in  the  flowers  on  strawberries,  currants, 
raspberries,  blackberries,  grapes,  etc. — fruit-bearing  flowers, 
useful  flowers.  Still,  I  would  not  have  you  love  the  other  kind 
less,  but  rather  these  useful  ones  more.  Can  you  think  of  any 
plant  that  would  afford  any  more  enjoyment  than  a  strawberry- 
plant  cared  for  so  that,  when  it  comes  to  bear,  it  shall  be  loaded 
down  with  berries  from  four  to  seven  inches  in  circumference, 
and  as  handsome  as  any  flower  too  ;  and  not  only  that,  but  de- 
licious to  eat,  also,  after  you  are  through  looking  at  it  ? 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE.  51 

CHAPTER  IX. 

A  TAI,K  ON  VARIETIES. 

Every  year  there  are  a  number  of  new  varieties  of  straw- 
berries brought  before  the  public.  Each  one  is  usually  better 
than  any  thing  that  was  ever  introduced  before,  if  we  may  be- 
lieve all  that  is  said  about  it.  Well,  now,  it  is  a  nice  thing  to 
have  so  many  horticulturists  trying  to  bring  out  strawberries 
that  are  better  than  any  thing  we  have.  Without  such  men  we 
should  not  have  the  improvement  of  the  last  fifty  years.  The 
first  improved  strawberry  of  importance,  Mr.  C.  A.  Green  says, 
was  the  Hovey,  which  originated  with  Mr.  Hovey,  of  Boston, 
in  1834.  After  that  came  the  Wilson,  then  the  Downing,  Cres- 
cent, Sharpless,  etc.,  until  now  we  have  a  great  many  varieties. 
It  is  a  fact,  however,  that  of  these  new  varieties  brought  out, 
not  one  in  ten  turns  out  in  the  end  to  be  any  real  improvement. 

When  at  Mr.  W.  W.  Farnsworth's,  a  year  ago  (who  grows 
berries  largely,  at  Waterville,  Ohio,  for  the  Toledo  market),  I 
found  that  he  was  trying  all  the  new  and  high-priced  varieties 
of  strawberries,  having  an  acre-  and  a  half  set  out  with  them. 
I  was  quite  surprised  to  find  that,  for  his  field  culture,  Mr.  F. 
had  only  Crescent  and  Sucker  State  berries,  four  rows  of  the 
former  and  then  one  of  the  latter,  and  so  on  through  the  field. 
Tae  rows  of  Sucker  States  were,  of  course,  set  out  to  fertilize 
the  Crescents,  which  have  an  imperfect  blossom.  I  said  to  Mr. 
Farnsworth  :  ' '  Would  not  some  of  these  newer  varieties,  such 
as  the  Jessie,  do  better? " 

He  answered  :  "  Possibly  there  may  be  some  kind  among 
the  many  new  ones  that  will  prove  to  be  better  than  the  old 
ones  ;  I  hope  so." 

Determined  to  get  at  the  whole  truth,  I  then  asked  him 
how  that  acre  and  a  half  of  new,  choice  (so-called)  varieties 
would  yield,  compared  with  his  Crescents.  His  answer  quite 


52  A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE. 

took  my  breath  away.  He  said:  "If  I  get  as  many  berries 
from  that  acre  and  a  half  as  I  do  from  half  an  acre  of  those 
Crescent  and  Sucker  States  over  there  (pointing  to  one  of  his 
large  fields),  I  shall  be  well  satisfied." 

"  Why,  I  thought  from  the  reports  of  reliable  men  that  the 
Jessie  was  the  best  berry  yet  brought  out,"  I  said. 

"  Well,"  he  answered,  "  these  are  not  all  Jessies,  and  I  can 
not  say  what  the  Jessie  may  amount  to ;  it  may  prove  better 
than  what  we  have  ;  but  I  do  say  that  my  statement  about  the 
average  of  new  varieties  will  not  come  far  from  the  truth." 

My  next  question  was:  "  Why,  then,  do  you  fuss  with 
these  new  kinds  at  all?  " 

"Oh!  "he  said,  "I  want  to  test  them,  so  as  to  know 
whether  any  thing  better  than  we  have  does  come  along  ;  and 
then,  being  in  the  business,  I  must  have  the  plants  to  sell,  of 
all  the  newer  varieties.  People  will  have  them." 

Mr.  F.  also  remarked:  "I  can  always  tell  when  an  order 
received  for  plants  is  from  a  beginner,  because  such  will  order 
many  different  kinds,  while  an  old  grower  will  send  for  but  two 
or  three,  and  these  of  well-established  merit." 

Mr.  J.  M.  Smith  stands  by  the  old  Wilson  berry  yet,  for 
his  main  crop,  although  many  other  much  lauded  kinds  have 
been  tried  by  him.  There  must  be  a  great  deal  of  money  paid 
out  for  these  new  varieties  that  are  brought  out  every  year, 
with,  as  Prof.  Henry  says,  only  a  "  catalog  reputation  "  behind 
them,  and  much  of  it  comes  from  green  hands  at  the  business. 
I  could  give  you  the  experiences  of  other  well-known  growers 
on  a  large  scale  (who  get  their  living  from  selling  berries), 
right  in  this  same  line.  They  stick  to  the  old  standard  kinds 
like  the  Wilson,  Crescent,  Sbarpless,  Downing,  etc.  I  asked 
Mr.  Farnsworth  if  some  of  the  larger  varieties  like  the  Sharp- 
less,  Bubach,  etc.,  would  not  pay  him  better.  He  said  they 
would  often  bring  more  money  per  bushel  ;  but  after  years  of 
watching  and  trial  he  was  sure  that  the  Crescents  yet  brought 
him  the  most  dollars  per  acre,  for  his  market,  as  they  outyield 


ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  53 

the  large-growing  varieties  so  decidedly,  in  ordinary  field  cul- 
ture. You  see,  Mr.  F.  grows  many  acres,  and  must  sell  them 
at  wholesale  to  a  large  jobber  ;  and  a  good  common  berry  that 
will  yield  largely  is  what  he  wants,  for  his  particular  market. 
There  is  an  unlimited  demand,  almost,  for  such,  for  a  rather 
cheap  berry  within  the  reach  of  the  laboring  classes.  He  said 
to  me,  however,  that  for  one  growing  berries  in  a  small  way, 
for  home  market  or  a  fancy  city  trade,  some  of  the  choicer, 


GAN 


larger  varieties  might  be  belter  ;  but  his  trade  in  a  large  way 
would  not  pay  enough  extra  for  them  so  he  could  afford  to 
touch  them. 

This  let  me  out,  as  I  do  not  want  any  Crescent  berries  to 
eat  myself,  nor  to  sell  for  my  trade.  I  want  something  larger 
and  of  finer  quality.  Theo.  Longenecker  says  the  Crescent 
will  stand  more  neglect  than  any  other  berry,  and  still  yield  a 


54 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE. 


fair  crop.  But  I  do  not  propose  to  neglect  them,  and  prefer  to 
do  more  work,  and  have  something  much  nicer.  And  I  have 
found  that  the  people  in  our  little  town  would  take  the  finest 
every  time,  at  a  much  higher  price.  I  have  watched  closely, 
and  noticed  that  those  with  little  money  to  spend  will  go  right 
by  common  Crescents,  to  pay  more  for  large  choice  Downings 
and  Sterlings.  Mr.  F.  hit  me  also  when  he  spoke  of  beginners 


ordering  many  varieties,  etc.  But,  how  else  is  one  to  learn 
what  they  will  do  on  his  grounds  ?  Certain  ones  do  best  on 
certain  soils,  and  no  one  can  tell  surely  which  is  the  best  berry 
for  him  to  grow,  except  by  experience.  And  it  may  seem  an 
easy  matter  to  pick  out  the  best  one  or  two  kinds,  after  you 
have  grown  a  number  of  varieties  side  by  side  for  two  or  three 
years  :  but  I  have  not  found  it  so.  One  may  have  the  healthiest 
foliage,  another  may  produce  the  largest  berries,  another  the 


ABC  OF  STRAWBERRY    CULTURE.  55 

finest-flavored  ones  ;  still  another,  which  is  a  little  behind  in 
these  respects,  may  yield  tremendously  ;  then  another  may  be 
just  perfect,  only  the  fruit-stems  are  too  short  or  too  weak,  let- 
ting the  berries  lie  on  the  ground  and  making  them  hard  to 
pick,  or  perhaps  it  is  liable  to  rust,  and  so  it  goes.  Take  it  all 
in  all,  the  perfect  strawberry  is  easiest  found  on  paper  yet  ;  but, 
do  not  let  me  discourage  you  from  looking  for  it,  and  trying 
the  most  promising  new  varieties  in  a  small  way. 


A  friend  who  wanted  to  set  out  half  an  acre  of  strawber- 
ries wrote  me  to  know  what  varieties  he  had  better  get.  He 
wanted  to  grow  what  they  could  use  at  home,  and  then  sell  the 
rest  in  town,  close  by.  He  wrote  that  he  wanted  early  and  me- 
dium and  late  varieties,  so  as  to  prolong  the  season.  This  re- 
minds me  of  a  remark  of  Mr.  Crawford  when  I  was  getting  the 
plants  of  him  to  set  out  our  first  bed,  some  three  years  ago.  I 
wanted  early  and  medium  and  late  berries  also.  Mr.  Crawford 
did  not  seem  to  think  that  an  important  point  for  me  ;  but  in 
my  simplicity  I  did.  So  I  questioned  him  to  know  whether 
there  wasn't  considerable  difference  in  the  time  of  ripening  of 


56  A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE. 

different  kinds.     He  laughingly  replied  :  "Oh!  there  maybe 
fifteen  minutes  or  so." 

Well,  he  sent  me  two  varieties,  one  perfect  and  the  other 
imperfect.  But  nevertheless  I  sent  and  got  some  of  the  earliest 
and  latest  berries,  as  advertised,  afterward  ;  and  now,  after  eat- 
ing the  fruit  and  watching  results,  I  am  in  a  better  state  of 
mind  for  appreciating  Mr.  C.'s  remark.  What  fools  we  all 
are,  often,  that  we  can  not  take  the  advice  of  one  who  knows, 
but  must  each  learn  in  the  costly  school  of  experience  ! 


The  Monmouth  was  advertised  as  the  earliest  berry  out ; 
and  the  Carmichael,  through  its  originator,  promised  me  ber- 
ries in  abundance  long  after  all  others  were  gone.  These  were 
just  what  I  wanted,  of  course.  As  to  the  latter,  we  did  not  get 
five  decent  berries  from  24  feet  of  matted  row.  The  Monmouth 
proved  no  earlier  than  other  standard  kinds  that  were  vastly 


A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  57 

better — no  earlier  to  speak  of  than  one  kind  Mr.  C.  sent  me. 
I  found  the  Gandy  also  advertised  as  the  latest  of  all  strawber- 
ries. Well,  now,  you  know  that  caught  me  again.  I  did  want 
to  prolong  the  season  a  week  or  so.  Well,  it  did  ripen  its  first 
berries  ten  days  later  than  ordinary  varieties.  It  is  a  good 
grower,  and  the  fruit  very  large  and  fine  ;  but  for  some  reason 
we  picked  the  last  good  berries,  to  amount  to  any  thing,  only 
about  "  fifteen  minutes  "  after  the  other  standard  kinds  were  all 
done  bearing.  It  is  a  late  berry  to  begin  to  ripen,  but  did  not, 
last  year,  hold  out  at  the  latter  end  of  the  season.* 


*  We,  too,  had  great  expectations  of  the  Gandy.  The  first  ripe  berry 
we  got  last  year  from  it  was  on  the  4th  of  July,  and  the  plant  was  such  a 
beautiful  grower — the  berries  so  very  large — that  we  made  quite  a  little 
planting  of  the  Gandy.  This  season  they  made  a  magnificent  growth; 
but  only  about  one  plant  out  of  four  bore  any  berries  at  all.  The  old 
plantation  of  last  year  has  done  very  little  better.  We  also  noticed  what 
friend  Terry  mentions — that,  although  it  was  so  very  late  before  it  ripened 
a  single  berry,  the  season  was  so  short  that  they  were  gone  almost  as  soon 
as  the  Jessie,  that  gave  us  our  first  berries. 

Later,  June  20,  1890. — Since  writing  the  above  I  have  been  down  to  the 
patch  where  the  old  original  Candies  stand.  I  picked  a  quart  of  berries 
from  perhaps  two  dozen  plants.  Out  of  this  quart  I  selected  a  heaping 


58  ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

All  this  was  a  little  discouraging  to  a  beginner  ;  but  still 
he  learned  by  experience,  without  any  great  harm  being  done. 
He  did  have  sense  enough  to  let  Mr.  C.  pick  out  the  main  va- 
rieties for  him,  and  to  experiment  with  the  novelties  in  a  small 
way.  We  bought  only  a  dozen  plants  of  each  kind  tested. 
Among  them  we  shall  find  some,  probably,  that  will  stay.  The 
Gandy  is  worthy  of  trial  as  a  late  berry,  in  a  small  way.  The 
Haverlands,  with  us,  just  lie  in  piles.*  They  are  of  good  size 
and  fair  quality,  and  hold  out  well.  The  Bubach  gives  us  extra 
large,  choice  fruit,  and  both  it  and  the  Haverland  and  Gandy 
have  very  healthy  foliage.  The  Summit  is  large  and  choice, 
but  not  as  free  from  rust.  The  Cumberland  does  well  for  us. 
The  berries  are  large.  It  is  an  old  standard  variety.  May  King 
proved  very  ordinary — good  enough  if  we  did  not  have  much 
better  kinds.  The  quality  was  more  satisfactory  than  the  yield 
and  size  of  berry.  We  bought  it  as  an  early  berry  ;  but  it  is  no 

pint  of  the  largest,  finest,  and  most  beautiful  berries  I  ever  saw  in  my  life. 
Each  one  was  a  model  of  beautiful  shape,  color  brighter  and  more  be- 
witching, it  seems  to  me,  than  any  thing  I  ever  saw  in  the  shape  of  a 
strawberry,  and  the  whole  set  off  to  wonderful  advantage  by  a  remarka- 
bly large,  bright-green  petiole  surrounding  the  stem.  The  stalk  is  very 
strong,  and  the  biggest  part  of  these  berries  stood  up  clear  from  the 
ground.  For  beauty  of  foliage,  and  for  rank,  luxuriant  growth,  I  have 
never  seen  any  thing  to  equal  the  Gandy.  Now,  my  friend,  if  you  will  be 
satisfied  with  a  quart  of  berries  from  one  picking  of  two  dozen  plants,  it 
will  pay  you  to  plant  the  Gandy.  My  impression  is,  that  they  should  be 
at  least  two  years  old  before  you  can  expect  a  fair  crop. 

*  We  want  to  emphasize  the  remark,  that  the  berries  just  lay  in  piles. 
It  was  a  refreshing  contrast  to  look  at  the  Haverlands,  after  we  became 
disgusted  with  the  poor  fruiting  of  the  Gandy.  Why,  some  of  our  large 
old  plants  of  the  Haverlands  had  fruit  in  piles  not  only  on  the  south  side, 
but  on  the  north  and  east  and  west  sides.  Some  writer,  in  speaking  of  a 
new  strawberry,  said  that  no  mulching  to  keep  the  berries  out  of  the  dirt 
was  required,  for  the  plant  bore  so  bountifully  that  the  berries  lay  three 
or  four  tiers  deep  all  around  the  plant;  consequently  only  the  lower  tier 
got  in  the  dirt.  All  this  has  been  literally  true  with  these  Haverlands. 
Unless  I  had  seen  them  down  on  our  rich  creek-bottom  land,  with  my  own 
eyes,  I  should  never  have  believed  that  any  single  strawberry-plant  could 
ripen  such  a  quantity  of  fruit.  I  felt  like  saying  to  one  of  them,  "  Why, 
you  poor,  silly,  dear  little  plant !  you  can  never  ripen  all  this  great  mass 
of  fruit,  any  way  in  the  world."  But  I  tell  you,  friends,  they  are  ripening 
up  nobly.  The  first  that  turned  red  were  so  long  and  large  that  they  com- 
pared quite  fairly  with  the  neighboring  Jessies  and  Bubachs.  We  are  just 
now  making  preparations  to  plant  tremendously  of  the  Haverlands.  Per- 
haps I  should  say  that  this  ground  that  gives  berries  in  piles  has  been  very 
heavily  manured  for  several  years. — A.  I.  R. 


ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 


59 


earlier  than  the  Haverland,  which  will  outyield  it  two  to  one. 
The  Mammoth  (bought  for  the  largest  berry)  was  a  failure. 
We  got  a  dozen  or  two  tremendous  berries  from  our  trial  row 
of  24  feet,  but  no  larger  than  the  Summit  or  Bubach  gave  at 
the  same  time.  After  that  the  berries  were  few  and  inferior. 
After  all  my  trouble  I  am  not  sure  to-day  that  I  have  any  better 
berries,  all  around,  for  my  purpose,  than  Mr.  C.  sent  me  the 
first  year,  the  Sterling,  with  the  Downing  as  a  fertilizer.  The 


former  is  a  failure  in  hills  ;  but  in  thin  matted  rows  it  has  done 
grandly.  Mr.  C.  said  its  only  fault  was  short  fruit-stems  ;  but 
that  is  one  of  its  advantages  with  me,  probably,  as  the  leaves, 
I  think,  protect  the  fruit  better  from  our  late  frosts. 

We  have  half  an  acre  of  berries  now  in  full  bloom  (May 
26),  and  another  half-acre  which  we  set  out  the  first' of  the 
month.  It  may  be  of  interest  to  some  to  know  just  what  we 
set  out  this  spring,  after  all  our  experiments,  and  just  the  pro- 


60  A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE. 

portion  of  perfect  to  imperfect  kinds,  etc.;  so  I  will  tell  you, 
and  I  assure  you  we  did  considerable  studying  over  the  matter 
before  a  plan  was  settled  on.  There  are  17  rows  of  plants. 
The  following  list  gives  the  varieties  in  order  for  the  17  rows  : 

1— Sterling,          I(mperfect)  10— Bubach,  I. 

2 — Downing,        P(erfect)  11 — Cumberland,  P. 

3— Sterling,          I.  12— Bubach,  I. 

4—     "  I.  13— Haverland,      I. 

5 — Downing,        P.  14 — Jessie,  P. 

6— Sterling,          I.  15— Haverland,      I. 

7— Gandy,  P.  16—        "  I. 

8— Bubach,  I.  17— Jessie,  P. 

9— Cumberland,  P. 

Mr.  Kellogg,  of  Wisconsin,  and  others,  prefer  the  Jessie*  to 
fertilize  the  Bubach  ;  they  say  it  makes  a  strong  team.  Per- 
haps so  ;  but  the  Cumberland  and  Bubach  blossom  more  nearly 
together,  and,  on  our  soil,  I  think  now  they  will  do  the  best  to- 
gether. The  Jessie  is  considerably  too  early  for  the  Bubach,  but 
just  exactly  right  for  the  Haverland.  I  shouldn't  wonder  if 
they  made  us  a  strong  team.  The  Downing  fertilizes  the  Ster- 
ling well.  We  have  three  strong  teams.  I  hardly  know  which 
is  the  strongest.  That  row  of  Gandy  is  put  in  where  it  may 
help  to  fertilize  some  of  the  late  blossoms  on  the  Bubachs  and 
Sterlings,  which  are  medium  late  in  blooming. 

Of  these  varieties,  a  careful  watching  this  year  shows  that 
the  Jessie  and  Downing  are  the  most  easily  injured  by  frost. 
The  three  imperfect  varieties  were  very  slightly  injured.  The 
Jessie  was  the  first  berry  to  bloom ;  but  the  Haverland  came 
close  after.  All  other  varieties  which  we  have  tested  have  been 
dropped  out. 

Now,  this  experience  is  not  given  for  others  to  go  by  blind- 
ly, in  a  large  way,  unless  it  agrees  with  that  of  your  nearest 
horticultural  authority,  who  knows  your  soil  and  locality.  But 
you  may  safely  set  a  few  plants  of  the  above  varieties  for  ex- 
periment, and  more,  perhaps,  if  your  soil  is  like  mine — a  good, 


ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  61 

deep,  rich  loam,  neither  too  light  nor  too  heavy.  For  experi- 
ment, buy  a  dozen  plants  of  a  kind.  Set  them  two  feet  apart 
in  your  rows,  but  leaving  four  feet  (skipping  one  place)  be- 
tween varieties  in  the  rows.  See  to  it  that  no  runners  get 
across  from  one  row  to  another,  or  from  one  variety  to  another 
in  the  row,  otherwise  you  will  have  your  plants  mixed  to  set  out 
another  year.  After  glowing  them  two  or  three  years  you  may 
find  out  what  two  or  three  kinds  best  suit  your  soil  and  treat- 
ment and  taste. 

I  would  not  be  understood  as  condemning  all  the  varieties 
mentioned  above  that  failed  to  do  well  for  me.  They  might 
succeed  better  undtr  different  conditions. 

The  pictures  in  this  chapter  will  give  you  a  fair  idea  of  the 
looks  of  six  of  the  seven  varieties  we  have  set  out  this  spring. 
Of  course,  these  pictures  are  of  the  largest,  finest  specimens. 
The  Sterling  is  from  a  photograph  of  one  grown  by  Mr.  Craw- 
ford, and  is  life  size,  exactly.  We  picked  some  benies  last 
year  of  each  variety  as  large  as  these  pictures,  and  many  that 
came  near  it.  You  may  notice  the  Bubach  quite  closely  resem- 
bles the  Sharpless.  The  Cumberland  is  as  perfect  in  shape  as 
though  turned  in  a  lathe — almost  to?;  perfect.  The  Haverland 
is  thimble  shaped.  The  Downing,  with  us,  so  closely  resem- 
bles the  Gandy  that  we  thought  one  picture  would  do  for  both. 
I  have  seen  larger  berries  than  these  on  exhibition  at  a  berry- 
show  ;  but  they  were  grown  specially  for  the  occasion  by  forc- 
ing. Some  as  large  as  these  can  be  grown  with  good  ordinary 
culture. 


62  A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 


CHAPTER  X. 

HOW  MARKET-GROWERS  MARK  OUT — MAKING  PLANTS  GROW 
RIGHT  AI,ONG  IN  DRY  WEATHER — TlI^AGE  TOOI^S  AND  HOW 
TO  USE  THEM — A  STRAWBERRY  HARROW — WORK  BRINGS 
THE  BERRIES. 

Most  growers  who  set  out  only  a  quarter  or  half  an  acre  cf 
strawberries  will  hardly  be  able  to  do  better  in  the  way  of  mark- 
ing out  and  setting  than  to  use  a  line,  spade,  and  trowel,  as 
spoken  of  in  a  previous  chapter.  I  know  some  who  set  a  good 
many  more  than  that,  who  set  by  a  line,  as  they  consider  it  so 
important  to  have  their  rows  straight.  Where  berries  are  grown 
on  a  large  scale  they  are  sometimes  put  in  in  a  faster  manner  ; 
but  I  would  do  my  best,  and  let  speed  be  a  secondary  matter. 
If  you  happen  to  have  an  Aspinwall  potato-planter  you  can 
dispense  with  the  line  and  spade,  however,  and  still  do  as 
straight  and  perfect  work.  I  used  this  tool  for  marking  out 
my  half-acre,  last  year  and  this  year.  The  coverers  were  taken 
off,  and  the  plow  set  to  run  nearly  five  inches  deep.  This  im- 
plement can  be  driven  so  as  to  make  furrows  almost  perfectly 
straight,  and  just  the  right  depth.  They  are  narrow,  and  just 
the  thing.  Some  of  the  dirt  falls  back  into  the  furrow  ;  but  it 
is  loose,  and  quickly  thrown  out  with  the  trowel,  where  the 
plant  is  to  be  set.  We  mark  but  two  rows  at  a  time,  leaving 
the  team  standing  on  the  planter,  so  as  to  have  the  ground 
fresh  and  moist  to  set  the  plants  in — that  is,  if  it  is  a  drying 
day.  The  plants,  of  course,  are  all  set  out  on  one  side  of  the 
mark,  or  furrow,  so  as  to  keep  them  in  line.  After  marking 
with  the  planter  we  walked  through  with  the  hand  marker, 
shown  in  Fig.  1,  and  scratched  on  one  side  of  the  furrow  where 
the  plants  were  to  be  set.  So  well  pleased  have  I  been  with 
this  way  of  opening  a  furrow,  that,  if  I  grew  berries  by  the 
acre,  and  had  no  use  for  a  potato-planter,  I  would  either  make 
a  marker  something  after  the  same  plan,  or  buy  the  necessary 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  63  . 

parts  of  a  planter  to  do  the  marking  ;  viz.,  the  wheels,  shaft, 
seat,  marker,  pole,  and  plow. 

Mr.  W.  G.  Farnsworth  was  visiting  me  last  summer.  He 
also  is  a  large  grower  of  berries,  like  his  brother  W.  W.  F. 
His  way  of  opening  a  furrow  to  set  plants  in  (and  I  think  his 
brother  does  the  same)  is  with  a  light  plow.  Then  he  places 
the  plants  against  the  land  side  of  the  furrow,  and,  with  a  gar- 
den-trowel, throws  some  soil  against  them  and  packs  it,  after- 
ward doing  the  rest  of  the  filling  with  the  Planet  Jr.  cultivator, 
with  the  side-shovels  on.  Mr.  F.  was  much  interested  in  my 
straight  rows,  and  I  think  he  went  home  determined  to  study 
up  some  way  of  opening  a  straighter,  nicer  furrow,  than  he 
can  with  a  one  horse  plow.  One  needs  some  implements  on 
wheels,  or  runners,  that  he  can  drive  two  horses  to,  in  order  to 
open  a  straight  furrow.  And,  aside  from  looks,  every  grower 
knows  that,  the  nearer  the  plants  are  in  line,  the  closer  the 
cultivator  or  harrow  can  be  run,  and  hence  the  less  hand  labor. 
If  I  used  a  plow  to  mark  out,  I  would  attach  it  to  a  sulky  and 
use  two  horses,  and  fix  a  marker  to  swing  over  from  side  to 
side,  to  make  a  mark  to  drive  the  pole  over.  Then  one  could 
do  perfect  work.  Friend  Pierce 's  plan  of  setting  out  is  good 
for  a  small  grower.  If  you  want  to  set  plants  two  feet  apart  in 
the  rows,  make  knots  in  your  line,  or  tie  in  tags,  that  distance 
apart,  from  end  to  end.  Then  after  your  line  is  stretched, 
leave  it  there  and  set  a  plant  at  each  knot.  I  haven't  tried  it, 
but  it  might  suit  some  better  than  my  way  of  making  a  scratch 
by  the  side  of  the  line,  and  then  taking  it  away.  It  would 
seem  to  me  that  the  line  would  be  somewhat  in  the  way,  when 
setting  out  the  plants ;  but  it  would  save  the  time  I  spend 
marking  the  places  to  set  plants,  and  a  trifle  more. 

Let  me  emphasize  the  following  points  by  repeating  them  : 

Set  out  only  large,  choice  plants  ;  and  when  transplanting 

on  your  own  grounds,  let  them  go  from  the  soil  directly  into  a 

pail  of  water,  and  from  there  into  moist  soil,  and  do  not  forget 

to  pack  the  soil  next  to  the  roots,  even  with  your  feet,  if  it  is 


.64  A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

very  dry  (plants  should  not  be  set  out  when  the  soil  is  wet),  and 
to  also  have  the  ground  very  fine  and  firm  before  you  begin. 
I  notice  some  fancy  growers,  in  a  small  way,  talk  about  having 
the  soil  so  mellow  they  can  run  the  hand  down  in  to  the 
shoulder.  I  should  not  care  to  set  out  plants  in  soil  as  loose  as 
that.  One  spring  it  was  very  dry  for  some  weeks  after  straw- 
berry-setting time.  But  by  using  care  in  the  above  lines,  our 
plants  grew  right  along,  splendidly,  all  of  them.  It  was  dry 
when  we  set  them  out ;  but  we  put  moist  earth  in  contact  with 
the  plants,  and  tramped  them  in  with  the  feet.  We  could  not 
have  had  a  better  season  to  show  the  benefits  of  firming  the 
soil.  It  happened  that  a  large  grower  called  here  about  a 
month  after  setting  time.  He  walked  back  and  forth  on  my 
half-acre  for  some  time  without  saying  a  word.  At  last  I  said 
to  him:  "I  suppose  your  berries  look  better  than  mine.  I  am 
quite  a  new  hand  at  the  bu'siness,  you  know." 

He  replied:  "No,  they  do  not.  I  wish  they  looked  as 
well.  It  has  been  so  dry  that  they  have  scarcely  started  since 
they  were  put  out,  and  many  are  dead  entirely.  Yours  are 
growing  right  along." 

This  was  pleasing  to  me,  although  I  felt  sorry  for  my 
friend.  Of  course,  however,  as  he  was  a  large  experienced 
grower  I  did  not  presume  to  tell  him  what  I  thought  was  the 
cause  of  the  difference.  But  let  me  ask  you,  reader,  if  you  do 
not  think  it  was  simply  better  care  all  the  way  through?  We 
never  tried  to  see  how  fast  we  could  do  any  of  the  work,  but 
how  thoroughly  well  we  could  manage  in  every  particular.  It 
being  dry,  we  set  the  plants  so  they  could  stand  it  and  grow 
right  along,  and  they  did. 

In  a  former  chapter  I  think  I  spoke  of  a  grower  saying 
that  a  strawberry-plant  would  often  live  and  take  root  when 
thrown  away  and  left  on  the  surface  of  the  ground.  This  is 
true,  for  I  found  some  once  when  cultivating  a  newly  set  patch. 
One  plant  was  actually  in  blossom,  and  about  as  large  as  those 
set  out.  But  that  was  a  very  wet  season.  A  little  less  care  in 


A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  65 

setting  might  have  answered  then  ;  but  that  year  I  know  some 
large  growers  lost  half  their  plants.  It  won't  do  to  take  the 
chance  of  half  doing  any  part  of  our  work.  Well,  the  friend 
last  spoken  of  used  this  fact,  that  berries  would  grow  when 
thus  carelessly  treated,  as  an  argument  to  prove  that  it  was 
useless  to  spend  so  much  time  in  keeping  the  roots  wet  and  set- 
ting out  so  carefully.  He  said  it  was  a  pretty  hard  matter  to 
kill  a  strawberry-plant.  We  have  too  many  men  of  that  sort, 
both  among  horticulturists  and  agriculturists.  If  such  can 
make  a  living  in  their  line,  reader,  rest  assured  that  there  is  a 
good  profit  for  you  in  thorough  work. 

Mr.  C.  A.  Green  says  :  "  But  let  me  tell  you  that  it  is  work 
that  brings  the  berries  ;  work,  I  say,  and  hard  work  too,  tug- 
ging and  sweating.  Don't  take  stock  in  those  poetry  fellows. 
Don't  get  the  notion  that  a  big  crop  of  berries,  growing  as  rank 
as  horseradish,  without  gaps  along  the  rows,  came  there  by 
whistling  for  them.  Just  bet  your  life  that  the  man  who  owns 
that  patch  nearly  broke  his  back  planting  and  weeding  and 
hoeing  ;  and  if  he  hadn't  he  would  not  get  any  profit  out  of 
them."  These  are  the  words  of  one  of  our  most  successful 
horticulturists. 

In  the  way  of  tillage  implements,  we  use  the  Planet  Jr. 
one-horse  cultivator,  with  narrow  1^-inch  teeth  on  it,  and  a 
wheel  to  keep  it  from  going  too  deep.  This  is  a  good  tool ;  but 
we  found  one  trouble  which  doubtless  many  growers  have  ex- 
perienced. The  teeth,  although  narrow,  would  throw  some 
dirt  over  the  leaves  of  the  plants,  if  we  ran  very  near,  and  even 
on  the  crowns.  So  we  had  to  be  satisfied  with  cultivating  about 
two-thirds  of  the  land,  and  hand-hoeing  the  rest.  By  going 
very  slowly  with  the  cultivator  (which  we  do  not  like),  and 
stopping  to  uncover  plants  occasionally,  we  might  cultivate 
three-fourths  of  the  land.  Well,  this  sort  of  work  was  not  sat- 
isfactory. It  occurred  to  me  that  small  harrow-teeth  would 
throw  no  dirt,  and  would  run  close  to  the  plant,  pushing  the 
leaves  aside  instead  of  covering  them,  thus  leaving  considera- 


66  A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE. 

bly  less  for  the  hoe  to  do.  So  I  went  to  the  tool-house  and  got 
a  piece  of  plank,  about  two  inches  by  six,  and  two  feet  long. 
Then  I  took  some  round  half-inch  harrow-teeth,  that  were 
sharpened,*  and,  boring  holes,  I  drove  them  through  the  plank, 
as  shown  in  Fig.  10,  a  tooth  at  each  dot.  The  holes  were  bor-. 
ed  through  square,  not  slanting.  A  slanting  tooth  would  cut 
off  the  leaves  instead  of  pushing  them  aside.  Next  with  two 
little  hook  bolts,  shown  in  Fig.  10  at  B,  which  were  found 
among  the  old  irons,  I  fastened  this  little  harrow  under  a  Plan- 
et cultivator-frame  (leaving  the  wheel  on),  after  having  taken 
off  all  the  teeth  and  teeth-standards.  I  then  had  a  cultivator 
with  nine  harrow-teeth  instead  of  five  curved  teeth.  One  can 


FIG.  10. — HARROW   ATTACHMENT   FOR  CUI/TIVATOR. 

buy  something  of  the  kind  ;  but  one  made  in  this  way,  as  an 
attachment  to  the  cultivator,  costs  but  little,  and  it  can  not 
track.  The  bolts  B  hook  up  over  the  cultivator  frame,  one  each 
side,  and  the  nuts,  of  course,  go  under  the  plank.  To  use  it, 
the  land  must  be  clean — no  rubbish  or  stones  of  much  size. 
Under  these  circumstances  you  will  be  pleased  with  the  harrow, 
to  use  in  connection  with  a  cultivator.  You  can  put  in  more  or 
less  teeth,  according  to  the  condition  of  your  land.  I  tried 
about  fifteen  at  first,  but  had  to  reduce  the  number  to  nine. 
With  this  harrow  one  can  stir  the  soil  about  an  inch  deep,  very 
close  to  the  crowns  of  the  plants,  leaving  it  level,  and  do  it  at 
quite  a  rapid  pace,  as  the  teeth  throw  no  dirt,  no  matter  how 
fast  you  go.  The  tooth  next  to  the  row  we  did  not  drive 
through  as  far  as  the  rest,  by  about  half  an  inch,  so  as  to  be 
sure  not  to  disturb  the  roots  of  the  plants.  We  go  through 
twice  in  a  row,  of  course,  in  our  four-foot  rows,  once  on  each 

*  See  last  chapter  in  regard  to  the  manner  of  sharpening  the  teeth. 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  67 

side  of  each  row.  After  a  hard  rain,  which  packs  the  ground  so 
a  harrow  would  hardly  touch  it,  we  use  the  cultivator  first,  not 
running  very  close  to  the  plants,  and  then  finish  up  by  going 
over  again  with  the  harrow,  and  then  continue  the  use  of  the 
harrow  until  another  hard  rain  packs  the  soil.  I  suppose  we 
used  that  harrow  about  twice  a  week  last  season,  on  an  average. 
We  put  it  on  an  old  cultivator-frame  and  left  it  on. 

The  Iron  Age  cultivator  and  harrow  combined  is  a  good 
tool  in  the  strawberry-patch,  if  you  raise  enough  to  need  a 
special  tool.  I  can  go  within  an  inch  of  plants  with  this  and 
throw  no  earth  on  leaves. 

For  the  hoeing  we  use  a  pronged  or  common  hoe,  like  most 
other  growers,  except  after  the  runners  partly  cover  the  ground. 
Then  we  use,  to  work  in  between  them,  to  stir  the  surface  in 
little  places  where  a  common  hoe  would  not  go  in  handily,  a 
little  V-shaped  hoe.  Needing  two  one  day,  my  son  made  a 
second  one  by  nailing  an  old  mowing-machine  section  (a  large 
one)  on  to  the  end  of  a  broom  handle,  so  the  point  would  be 
down  at  right  angles  to  the  handle.  The  hoe  we  bought  was 
not  hung  right  for  this  business.  We  heated  the  shank  and 
bent  the  V-shaped  blade  down  until  it  stood  about  at  right  an- 
gles with  the  handle.  Then  we  could  use  the  point  or  sides  to 
hoe  in  among  the  runners,  nicely. 

This  sort  of  hoeing  may  not  pay  always,  at  least  I  presume 
few  would  take  the  trouble  to  do  it.  The  writer  is  called  some- 
thing of  a  crank  on  tillage.  Well,  he  likes  to  see  every  thing 
just  do  its  best ;  and  you  know  one  can  grow  $50  worth  of 
strawberries  on  half  an  acre,  or  $500  worth,  or  anywhere  along 
between  (there  is  a  little  luck  about  the  matter,  however),  ac- 
cording as  he  does  his  part.  And  in  this  matter  of  a  surface 
kept  mellow  all  the  time  lies  part  of  the  secret  of  a  great  yield. 

A  farmer  was  asking  at  an  institute  in  Pennsylvania,  last 
winter,  why  his  berries  did  not  do  better.  My  old  friend  Sisson, 
who  has  sold  over  a  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  strawberries 
from  an  acre,  inquired  all  about  how  he  cared  for  them  ;  and 


68  A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

at  last,  laughingly,  told  him  that  he  didn't  think  he  "dropped 
quite  enough  sweat  "  on  his  patch. 

For  preparing  the  ground,  the  best  farm  tools  are  all  that 
are  needed.  If  I  were  now  buying  new  the  best  of  tools  for 
both  purposes,  I  would  get  a  good  plow  with  a  jointer  on  (Oli- 
ver chilled  40  is  my  favorite — have  two),  a  cut-away  harrow 
and  a  Thomas,  and  a  good  roller.  After  plowing  the  land  as 
deep  as  it  was  ever  plowed  before,  I  would  run  over  it  with  the 
Thomas  the  same  way  it  was  plowed  ;  then  roll  it.  Next  take 
the  cut-away  and  go  lengthwise  and  crosswise,  lapping  half 
each  time  (four  times  over  the  land).  Then  level  and  smooth 
down  with  the  Thomas,  and  roll  ready  for  marking.  If  it  were 
not  just  as  fine  and  nice  as  a  garden  bed  I  would  harrow  and 
roll  more.  All  this,  of  course,  when  the  land  was  sufficiently 
dry.  Fine,  mellow,  but  firm  soil,  is  what  you  want.  On  some 
soils  a  subsoil  plow  following  the  other  would  help,  beyond  a 
doubt.  The  subsoil  in  my  patch  is  not  hard  enough  to  be  ben- 
efited by  stirring.  If  I  had  a  hard  clay  subsoil  (underdrained, 
of  course)  I  would  plow  narrow  furrows,  say  8  inches  wide, 
and  follow  with  a  subsoil  plow,  drawn  by  one  stout  horse  walk- 
ing in  the  furrow.  With  a  narrow  furrow  the  subsoil  plow 
would  break  up  all  the  subsoil.  Careful  experiments  have 
shown  that  subsoiling  did  not  pay  on  our  porous  subsoil. 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  69 


CHAPTER  XI. 

ALL  THE  DIFFERENT  WAYS  OF  GROWING  STRAWBERRIES 
TALKED  OVER— MATTED  BEDS  ;  MATTED  ROWS,  THICK  AND 
THIN,  WIDE  AND  NARROW  ;  ROWS  OF  STOOLS  ;  CHECK  ROWS, 
ETC. — WHEN  TO  LET  RUNNERS  GROW — JUST  HOW  OUR  HALF- 
ACRE  WAS  MANAGED— CIRCUMSTANCES  ALTER  CASES. 

Before  the  writer  began  strawberry-growing  he  talked  with 
many  growers  in  Ohio  and  Wisconsin,  while  attending  insti- 
tutes. Almost  without  exception  he  was  told  that  the  best  way 
to  grow  for  market  was  in  matted  rows.  But  some  favored 
narrow  rows  ;  and  some,  wider  ones.  Right  here  it  had  better 
be  explained  to  beginners,  that  growing  in  matted  beds  means 
setting  out  the  plants  in  tows,  say  four  feet  apart,  and  then  let- 
ting the  runners  entirely  cover  the  ground.  When  grown  in 
what  is  called  matted  rows  they  are  set  out  in  the  same  way  ; 
but  by  the  use  of  the  cultivator  and  hoe,  and  what  are  called 
runner-cutters  by  some,  they  are  kept  in  rows  or  drills  var}ing 
in  width  according  to  the  grower's  notion.  When  I  was  at  Mr. 
Farnsworth's  I  judged  his  rows  of  plants  were  about  18  inches 
wide.  He  said  the  cultivator  had  been  kept  busy  in  the  rest  of 
the  space.  In  the  spring,  after  taking  out  what  plants  he  wants 
from  the  outside  edges  of  the  rows,  in  such  a  way  as  to  leave 
them  a,bout  a  foot  wide,  he  hoes  up  all  the  other  plants  neces- 
sary to  reduce  the  rows  to  this  width  of  one  foot  throughout. 
In  this  foot  of  row  he  prefers  to  have  the  plants  stand  rather 
thinly.  Mr.  F.  considers  this  the  best  plan  for  field  culture  in 
a  large  way,  or  did  at  the  time  of  my  visit.  He  grows  ,a  good 
many  acres  of  strawberries.  If  grown  in  hills  he  says  he  would 
expect  larger  berries,  but  does  not  consider  it  possible  for  him 
to  make  as  many  dollars  per  acre  in  that  way. 

Mr.  F.'s  plan  is  about  the  same  as  that  of  most  growers  I 
visited  or  talked  with,  although  on  an  average  the  jowsof 
plants  aie  left  wider.  However,  growers  were  found  who  kept 


70  A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

the  drills  down  to  eight  or  nine  inches  in  width,  claiming  that 
all  the  large  fine  berries,  or  nearly  all,  grow  on  the  outside  of 
rows,  and  therefore  they  might  as  well  be  narrow  ;  also  that 
the  plants  get  more  benefit  from  the  tillage  in  the  narrow  rows. 
In  wide  matted  rows  the  soil  could  not  be  stirred  around  the 
plants,  or  near  enough  to  help  them  any,  after  the  runners  got 
well  started.  From  the  bulk  of  testimony,  probably  the  berries 
will  average  somewhat  larger  in  very  narrow  rows,  unless  the 
wide  ones  are  considerably  thinned  but,  at  least ;  but  I  doubt 
the  yield  per  acre  being  as  large.  What  I  want  is  a  large  yield 
per  acre  of  large  berries  ;  but  we  will  come  to  that  soon.  Now, 
on  the  other  hand,  growers  were  found  who  left  their  rows  two 
feet  or  even  three  in  width,  leaving  just  a  narrow  path  to  get 
through  when  picking. 

Again,  there  is  another  method  of  growing  which  I  have 
spoken  of  before  as  hill  culture.  The  plants  are  kept  in  hills, 
or  stools,  by  cutting  all  runners  as  fast  as  they  appear.  For 
growing  in.  this  way,  the  plants  are  set  out  from  12  to  20  inches 
apart  in  the  rows,  which  may  be  from  3  to  3>£  feet  apart.  It  is 
commonly  stated  that  larger  berries  can  be  grown  in  hill  cul- 
ture, but  not  as  many  bushels  per  acre. 

Now  after  getting  all  this  general  information,  I  set  out 
our  first  quarter-acre  in  rows  four  feet  apart,  and  intended  to 
keep  them  within  two  feet,  leaving  two  feet  for  cultivation  and 
a  path.  But  I  found  it  hard  to  hoe  up  any  plants  that,  could 
possibly  be  left,  and  have  even  a  very  narrow  path  left  between 
the  rows  ;  so  from  my  tender-heartedness  the  rows  were  proba- 
bly three  feet  wide,  and  from  the  same  reason,  along  with  some 
greenness,  they  were  terribly  thick.  And,  to  tell  the  truth,  I 
thought  that,  where  my  thickest  and  heaviest  growth  of  vines 
was,  there  I  should  get  the  most  berries.  Well,  I  did  not,  by 
any  means ;  but  we  had  taken  such  good  care  of  them  other- 
wise that  we  had  a  very  fair  crop  any  way,  and  the  size  aver- 
aged unusually  large  too. 

When  we  were  picking,  a  friend  called  here  who  had  had 


ABC  OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  71 

much  experience  in  growing  strawberries,  and  he  shook  his 
head  sadly  at  the  great  thick  growth  of  vines  I  had  (what  a 
time  we  had  plowing  them  under,  or  trying  to,  after  picking 
the  fruit !  )  and  said  if  I  had  kept  the  runners  all  cut  off,  and 
just  had  my  single  hills  2  feet  by  4,  I  would  have  had  larger 
berries,  and  more  of  them,  and  more  satisfaction.  This,  with 
the  generally  expressed  opinion  that  hill  culture  produces  the 
largest,  finest  fruit,  caused  me  to  decide  to  keep  the  most  of 
the  new  bed  set  out  that  season  in  hills.  We  did  so,  and  they 
grew  finely  (except  the  Sterlings)  and  stooled  out  so  as  to  make 
very  large  hills.  When  friend  Root  and  Dr.  Fenn  (an  authori- 
ty) were  looking  at  them  in  the  fall,  the  doctor  remarked  : 
"Those  hills,"  pointing  to  some  of  the  best,  "will  yield  two 
quarts  apiece."  This  made  me  happy,  for  one  quart  to  the 
hill  was  all  I  had  hoped  for.  But  when  picking  time  came,  I 
do  not  think  the  average  was  over  a  pint  to  the  hill.  I  learned 
something — at  a  cost  of,  say,  $75.  Do  you  think  that  perhaps 
the  same  varieties  in  matted  rows  would  not  have  done  any  bet- 
ter, that  season,  under  the  same  conditions  ?  Well,  I  was  smart 
enough  to  grow  a  few  that  way,  some  in  narrow  rows  and  some 
in  wide,  some  thick,  and  some  thin.  An  exact  account  was  not 
kept  of  the  yield  from  the  different  strips,  as  I  had  no  thought 
of  ever  telling  of.  it,  and  it  was  so  decidedly  in  favor  of  the 
wide,  thin  matted  rows.  An  old  bachelor  brother-in-law  of 
mine,  who  gets  a  little  impatient  sometimes  when  things  do  not 
go  right,  helped  pick  these  berries.  He  would  run  over  two  or 
three  rows  of  the  hills  to  get  a  peck  basketful ;  but  when  he 
came  to  that  wide,  thin  matted  row,  he  would  bring  in  his  bas- 
ket full  and  say  :  "Confound  that  row!  I  have  picked  there 
for  an  hour,  and  there  is  another  basketful  there  yet !  "  (a  little 
exaggerated). 

Another  point  which  I  could  hardly  believe  :  There  was 
very  little  if  any  difference  -in  the  size  of  the  berries,  on  an 
average.  Could  we  have  had  our  harvest-time  experience  a 
year  beforehand,  we  could  easily  have  made  one  hundred  dol- 


72  A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

lars  more  from  that  little  patch — experience  as  to  the  methods 
of  growing,  and  the  best  varieties  for  us,  etc.  Now,  this  was 
but  a  single  experiment,  and  you  must  not  give  it  too  much 
weight.  It  may  not  settle  the  matter  for  all  growers  and  all 
conditions,  by  any  means  ;  but  it  did  for  us,  taken  in  connec- 
tion with  former  experience.  All  our  berries  were  set  out  last 
year  in  rows  four  feet  apart,  and  two  feet  apart  in  the  rows. 
The  plants  were  set  in  the  spring,  before  we  knew  how  the  dif- 
ferent varieties  would  yield,  of  course  ;  so  some  kinds  were  set 
out  that  were  rejected  this  spring.  But  we  got  the  matted-row 
experience  in  time,  and  all  our  half-acre  was  trained  in  thin 
wide  matted  rows.  We  didn't  even  care  to  leave  a  few  in  hills, 
or  keep  them  in  narrow  rows,  to  further  test  the  matter. 

Another  point :  Having  large  choice  plants  right  from  our 
own  grounds  to  set  out,  and  doing  the  work  so  carefully  that 
practically  their  growth  was  not  checked  at  all,  and  the  land 
being  pretty  clean,  it  semed  to  me  unnecessary,  and,  indeed, 
not  best  to  keep  the  runners  cut  off  the  newly  set  plants  until 
the  middle  of  Jnly  or  first  of  August,  as  most  market-gardeners 
advise,  and  as  I  have  advised  farmers  to  do,  in  a  previous  chap- 
ter. I  reasoned  that  my  plants  were  as  large  and  strong  and 
able  to  grow  runners  that  were  thrifty  by  the  middle  of  June, 
or  soon  after,  as  plants  under  ordinary  field  culture  \vere  a 
month  or  six  weeks  later.  Again,  that  the  sooner  the  plants 
which  were  to  bear  the  berries  the  next  season  could  be  started, 
with  a  sufficiently  thrifty  parent,  the  larger  and  stronger  they 
would  have  time  to  become,  and  the  better  able  to  prcduce  a 
big  crop  of  berries.*  Therefore  we  set  out  the  plants  as  early 

*  Friend  T.,  on  account  of  the  value  of  our  land,  and  the  close  crop- 
ping we  give  it,  we  put  out  our  strawberries  after  early  peas  or  early  corn 
or  potatoes.  We  have  not  the  ground  to  spate  at  any  other  time.  I^ike 
yourself,  I  want  the  very  best  plants  I  can  get,  and  I  want  to  get  them  go- 
ing as  soon  as  possible,  that  I  may  get  at  least  part  of  a  crop  next  season. 
AHer  selling  them  out,  of  course  we  keep  the  runners  off.  it  being  so  late 
in  the  season.  Well,  with  verv  rich  ground  and  gnod  treatment  we  get 
enormous  plants,  usually,  by  November,  and  often  plow  them  under  after 
getting  just  one  crop  of  fruit.  So  you  see  our  strawberry-patch  gets  really 
no  more  time  than  a  crop  of  cabbage,  corn,  and  many  other  vegetables  ; 


A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  73 

in  the  spring  as  the  ground  was  fit  to  work,  and  let  the  runners 
grow  as  soon  as  the  plant  was  able  to  throw  out  strong  and 
thriity  ones  in  abundance,  which  was  about  the  20th  of  June. 
We  went  over  the  piece  two  or  three  times,  training  the  runners 
a  little,  after  they  got  well  started,  so  they  would  as  soon  as 
possible  cover  all  the  surface  with  plants.  By  the  middle  of 
August  the  vines  were  a  beautiful  sight,  about  covering  the 
ground,  and  people  began  to  stop  and  look  at  them  and  praise 
them.  We  went  through  from  time  to  time  between  rows  of 
different  varieties,  and  cut  the  runners  just  enough  so  they 
would  not  cross  and  get  mixed.  This  after  they  had  made  such 
a  growth  that  we  had  stopped  using  the  cultivator.  Where 
two  rows  were  of  the  same  variety  we  let  them  cover  the  ground 
entirely  between — let  them  grow  and  run  according  to  their 
own  sweet  will.  There  was  practically  no  ground  on  the  half- 
acre,  except  where  the  runners  were  cut  off  to  prevent  mixing 
of  varieties,  that  thiy  failed  to  cover,  with  a  little  help  from  us 
in  the  way  of  training. 

Aside  from  my  experience,  it  seems  as  though  this  was  the 
natural  way  for  strawberry-vines  to  grow.  They  are  vines,  run- 
ning vines,  and  not  bushes.  They  were  just  running  in  clover, 
so  to  speak  (literally  as  to  their  roots).  But  in  the  fall,  Nature 
had  to  be  looked  after  a  little,  so  that  she  should  not  overdo  the 

for  after  their  fruiting,  cabbages  and  many  other  things  can  be  put  on 
after.  Bat  I  have  been  curious  to  know  whether  we  should  get  less  fruit 
by  letting  the  runners  grow  in  the  spring.  On  one  occasion  we  had  a  nar- 
row strip  of  very  nice  mellow  ground  along  the  outside  row  of  berries.  As 
we  wanted  some  plants,  we  let  the  outside  row  of  Jessies  (and  this  row 
only),  send  runners  over  into  this  mellow  ground.  Then  I  asked  the  boys 
to  see  how  many  less  berries  this  outside  row  produced  because  it  furnished 
plants  and  berries  both  at  the  sam--  time.  To  my  astonishment  they  said 
it  not  only  gave  those  great  handsome  plants,  but  it  gave  rather  more  ber- 
ries than  the  other  rows  where  the  runners  were  carefully  cut  off  In  this 
case  the  runners  were  all  pulled  over  to  one  Mde  in  this  bed  of  mellow 
soil,  and  they  were  spaced  by  laying  a  handful  of  dirt  on  the  end  of  the 
runner.  With  this  treatment  the  young  plant  was  very  quickly  self-sup- 
porting. Perhaps  the  reason  why  these  plants  bore  just  as  well  as  or  better 
than  those  where  the  runners  were  picked  off.  was  because  the  ground 
was  so  very  rich,  and  possibly  this  strip  of  mellow  soil,  extending  clear  up 
>the  row  of  plants,  may  have  given  this  outside  row  more  thrift  and  vigor. 

—A.  I.  R. 


74  A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

matter  of  plant-making.  Man,  having  given  her  such  an  excel- 
lent chance,  must  keep  the  reins  in  his  hands,  although  the 
controlling  should  be  in  the  most  natural  way  possible.  To  cut 
off  the  runners  all  summer  is  not  natural.  We  let  them  have 
their  own  .way  until  the  season's  growth  was  about  over.  About 
the  middle  of  October,  when  we  had  our  work  done  up  so  we 
had  plenty  of  time  (perhaps  a  little  earlier  would  be  better), 
we  stretched  lines  through  between  the  rows  ;  and  one  man 
with  shears  cut  runners,  and  another,  with  a  hoe,  cleaned  out 
paths  16  inches  wide.  This  left  two-thirds  of  the  ground  cov- 
ered with  plants.  Next  we  went  through  these  plants  and  took 
out  the  old  ones,  set  in  the  spring,  all  the  little  weak  ones,  and 
enough  of  the  strong  ones  so  that  what  were  left  stood  not  less 
than  six  inches  apart,  on  an  average.  We  did  this  work  with 
an  old  table  knife,  having  about  two  inches  of  the  end  of  the 
blade  bent  nearly  at  right  angles  with  the  rest.  We  could  cut 
them  out  pretty  well  with  this  ;  but  friend  Smith  afterward  wrote 
me  that,  if  I  had  taken  my  garden-trowels  and  ground  the  ends 
sharp,  I  could  have  taken  out,  or,  rather,  cut  off  the  plants  we 
wished  to  destroy,  much  faster.  By  the  way,  while  I  think  of 
it,  we  did  not  cut  quite  low  enough  down  on  some  of  the  plants. 
Some  few  that  were  cut  near  the  surface,  although  all  the  top 
was  taken  off,  sprouted  and  grew  some  weak  shoots  from  the 
sides  of  the  decapitated  crowns.  We  will  look  out  and  cut  a 
little  lower  next  time.  When  we  got  through  this  thinning 
process,  about  two-thirds  of  the  plants  had  been  destroyed. 
But  my  expectation  is,  that  I  shall  get  more  fruit,  and  finer — in 
fact,  the  largest  possible  yield  per  acre.  Great  care  was  taken 
not  to  disturb  any  plants  except  those  taken  out.  The  plants 
left  have  grown  in  a  natural  way,  and,  since  the  others  were  re- 
moved, have  had,  each  one  of  them,  reasonable  feeding-ground. 
It  was  no  small  job  to  take  out  these  plants  with  an  eye  to  the 
"  survival  of  the  fittest. "  Our  rows  were  some  25  rods  long. 
It  was  a  pretty  good  day's  work  for  a  man  to  go  over  one  row 
a  day,  with  some  varieties.  Others,  however,  which  naturally 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE.  75 

made  less  plants,  could  be  thinned  faster.  But  it  seems  to  me 
that  it  may  easily  make  a  difference  of  one  or  two  bushels 
in  the  yield  of  a  row,  or  two  or  three  cents  a  quart  in  the  size, 
on  half  a  dozen  or  more  bushels,  or  perhaps  both.  In  thickly 
matted  rows,  all  the  plants  do  not  bear  fruit  to  amount  to  any 
thing,  and  these  non-yielders  are  using  up  the  fertility  of  the 
soil — are,  in  effect,  so  many  weeds  ;  why  not  treat  them  as 
such,  and  remove  them  ?  It  might  be  wiser  not  to  let  so  many 
runners  grow  ;  but  this  would  take  endless  watching  at  a  busy 
season,  and  would  not  be  quite  as  natural. 

But,  now,  there  is  a  difference  in  the  habits  of  growth  of 
different  varieties.  I  am  studying  and  trying  to  do  my  best 
with  those  we  grow.  The  Crescent,  I  am  told,  will  stand  the 
most  negltct,  and  yield  better  in  a  thick  solid  matted  row,  than 
any  other  variety  having  the  same  treatment.  Possibly  this 
thinning  would  not  pay  for  them  ;  probably  not  as  well.  Of 
this  I  do  not  know,  however.  I  do  not  want  any  Crescents, 
any  way  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  said  that  the  Sharpless  and 
the  Jewell  do  well  in  hills,  on  certain  soils  and  in  certain  local- 
ities, with  the  runners  all  kept  off.  But  I  can  not  grow  Sharp- 
less  ;  my  land  is  too  much  subject  to  late  frosts,  which  they  en- 
dure poorly,  and  is  hardly  heavy  enough  to  suit  that  berry. 
For  the  rank  growing  kinds  that  I  grow,  the  above  appears  to 
me  now  to  be  the  very  best. 

Mr.  C.  E.  Chapman  said,  in  the  Country  Gentleman,  last 
fall,  in  regard  to  my  taking  out  the  old  plants  set  in  the  spring  : 
"This  is  contrary  to  my  experience.  The  old  plant  is  in  its 
prime,  not  having  borne  fruit  during  the  season.  It  has  a  vig- 
orous, healthy  growth,  and  will  give  more  and  larger  berries 
than  any  of  its  runners.  Why  take  it  out  ?"  True,  it  hasn't 
borne  fruit ;  but,  has  it  not  exhausted  itself  sending  out  run- 
ners? But  I  took  it  out  because  some  other  growers  told  me 
they  would,  and  because,  with  two  varieties  we  grow,  we 
had  tried  leaving  the  old  plants  and  found  they  produced 
next  to  nothing.  Probably  Mr.  C.  is  right,  for  the  varieties  he 


76  A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

grows,  and  I  may  be  partly  wrong.  How  many  things  we  have 
to  learn  yet,  and  how  circumstances  alter  cases  !  I  wish  I  could 
tell  every  grower  who  is  just  starting  out  in  the  business,  ex- 
actly what  to  get  and  what  to  do,  but  I  can  not.  This  would 
be  an  impossibility  for  any  mortal  man.  Selling  plants  is  no 
part  of  our  business,  or  such  a  wholesale  thinning-out  of  plants 
in  the  fall  would  be  wasteful.  We  grow  berries  and  sell  no 
plants.  Some  grow  plants  and  sell  no  berries.  Mr.  Chapman 
thought  we  might  sell  the  plants  we  destroyed  in  the  fall,  and 
make  considerable.  Well,  I  would  not  set  plants  under  ordi- 
nary circumstances  in  the  fall,  for  myself,  nor  would  I  advise 
others  to.  If  I  sold  a  man  plants,  I  should  want  him  to  have 
them  when  there  was  the  best  chance  for  him  to  get  some  good 
from  them.  It  wouldn't  be  right,  even  to  keep  still  and  make 
money  out  of  my  brother's  ignorance.*  I  do  not  know  a  mar- 
ket-grower in  the  State  who  practices  fall  planting.  Again, 
these  plants  taken  out  are  mostly  the  poorest.  In  this  respect 
I  should  not  like  Mr.  Farnsworth's  way  of  getting  plants  from 
the  outside  of  rows  for  setting.  They  would  hardly  be  the  best. 
The  first  runners  to  +ake  root  around  the  old  hills  will 
usually  be  the  strongest,  thriftiest  plants.  To  get  plants  to  set 
myself,  I  prefer  to  take  the  row  clean,  as  far  as  I  go,  throwing 
away  all  poor  plants.  This  saves  tramping  the  ground,  too,  as 
one  would  in  taking  up  plants  all  along  between  the  rows. 
Usually  in  the  early  spring  I  should  not  want  any  one  tramp- 

*  Friend  T.,  I  fear  this  remark  is  a  little  too  sweeping,  and  perhaps 
unjust  to  some.  I  am  very  well  aware  that  there  are  plant  sellers  who 
recommend  the  fall  of  the  year,  in  the  fall,  and  then  in  the  spring  they 
recommend  the  springtime;  but  with  the  excellent  success  we  have  had 
in  receiving  plants,  both  by  mail  and  express,  during  all  the  summer  and 
fall  months,  we  can  not  feel  that  it  is  a  risky  business.  Besides,  there  are 
quite  a  few  people  who  have  leisure  in  July  and  August,  or  in  September, 
who  have  not  at  other  seasons  of  the  year.  They  can  attend  to  it  then, 
and  do  well,  whereas  they  could  not  in  the  springtime.  Another  thing, 
untidy  gardens  may  be  slicked  up  and  made  a  thing  of  beauty  and  a  source 
of  profit  by  planting  strawberries  during  the  months  when  gardens  as  a 
rule  look  most  untidy.  Yes,  this  can  be  done,  and  a  crop  of  '  erries  secur- 
ed in  It- ss  than  one  year  from  the  time  the  plants  were  put  out.  Very  like- 
ly, where  land  is  plentiful,  and  where  berries  are  grown  largely  for  mar- 
ket, the  springtime  is  preferable. — A.  I.  R. 


A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  77 

ing  between  my  strawberry -rows.  But  Mr.  Farnsworth's  soil 
is  very  ligbt  and  sandy,  and  would  not  pack  like  mine  ;  per- 
baps  not  so  as  to  injure  it  at  all.  "  Circumstances  alter  cases," 
again. 

Tbere  is  still  another  way  of  growing  strawberries.  Tbis 
is  tbe  way  Mr.  Little,  of  Canada,  tells  of  it,  in  a  late  number 
of  tbe  American  Farm  and  Horticulturist; 

"Tbere  are  different  modes  of  planting  and  cultivating 
the  strawberry  ;  but  very  few  have  adopted  the  best.  The  most 
careless  way  is  to  allow  the  junneis  to  fill  the  beds  and  form  a 
dense  mass  of  plants."  (I  agree  so  far.)  "  Another  mode,  a 
compromise  between  good  and  bad,  is  the  matted-row  system, 
the  plants  growing  thickly  in  the  row,  but  admitting  cultiva- 
tion between."  (O.  K.  again. )  "  A  still  better  way  is  to  keep 
the  plants  in  stools,  with  the  runners  cut  off,  which  gives  fine 
berries  and  abundance  of  them."  (Sometimes,  if  one  has  the 
right  variety,  and  no  worms  to  trouble  the  roots  when  they  are 
kept  in  bearing  two  or  three  years,  as  Mr.  L.  suggests. )  "  But 
there  is  a  still  better  mode,  costing  less  to  keep  in  perfect  order, 
than  the  matted  bed  or  matted  rows,  or  rows  in  stools  with  cut 
runners"  (Has  friend  L.  forgotten  that  there  is  "  no  excel- 
lence without  great  labor?  ")  "  This  is  the  check-row  system. 
Set  the  plants  in  squares,  or  in  rows  both  ways,  say  two  feet 
apart."  This,  it  is  claimed,  gives  a  chance  to  cultivate  both 
ways,  and  reduces  the  amount  of  hand  labor  required.  It  is  a 
question  in  my  mind  whether  the  amount  of  hand  labor  is  re- 
duced, and  it  would  take  twice  as  much  cultivating.  Rows  two 
feet  wide  would  be  too  narrow  for  my  horses  to  walk  in.  It 
seems  to  me  that  I  would  make  the  squares  three  feet,  and  let 
several  plants  f  trm  in  each  one.  I  once  heard  Mr.  Ohmer  say 
that,  if  he  were  intending  to  set  out  20  acres,  he  would  put 
them  all  out  this  way.  But  I  did  not  intend  to  discuss  Mr. 
Little's  plan,  oaly  give  it  to  you.  Mr.  Little  knows  a  great 
deal  more  about  berry-growing  than  the  writer  of  this.  Mr. 
Hale,  of  Connecticut,  I  think,  grows  berries  on  about  the  same 


78  A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

plan.  With  varieties  adapted  to  it,  it  is,  of  course,  a  good  way. 
But  each  reader  must  study  out  for  himself  his  best  way.  This 
talk  is  intended  to  set  you  to  thinking  and  hunting  for  it. 

I  have  no  hobby  on  this  point.  I  should  like  this  last  way  of 
growing  berries  if  it  would  surely  bring  best  results,  and  were 
practical  for  me.  But  there  are  objections  to  hill  culture  in 
some  localities,  which  I  have  not  mentioned.  Single  plants 
will  sometimes  die  out  during  the  winter  (because  they  have 
been  unnaturally  treated?)  even  if  well  mulched.  If  one  hap- 
pens to  have  any  white  grubs  in  his  soil,  when  they  destroy  a 
hill  wheie  they  are  set  in  squares  there  will  be  quite  a  loss.  In 
a  thin  matted  row  there  is  less  risk. 

I  have  now  explained  about  the  different  ways  of  growing 
strawberries,  and  told  you  just  how  I  did  last  year  (and  am  do- 
ing this  year)  and  why  I  did  so.  The  best  of  results  are  ex- 
pected, and  the  show  for  berries  at  this  writing  is  all  that  man 
could  ask  for.  Much  study  has  been  expended  on  this  point ; 
but  I  shall  undoubtedly  know  more  about  it  a  few  years  in  the 
future. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  MULCHING  QUESTION — CUT  STRAW  AS  A  MULCH— THE 
EARTH  MULCH — MULCHING  TO  PROLONG  THE  SEASON — COV- 
ERING WITH  STRAW  TO  PROTECT  FROM  FROST— MULCHING 
VS  IRRIGATION. 

The  first  two  years  that  we  grew  strawberries  we  mulched 
them  with  long  wheat  straw,  as  told  in  a  former  chapter.  It 
worked  well ;  but  we  tried  another  plan  last  fall  which  we  have 
reason  to  think  will  be  an  improvement.  We  cut  the  straw 
into  about  two-inch  lengths,  and  then  covered  the  entire  sur- 
face over  plants  and  paths  with  it.  The  cost  of  cutting  was  not 
much,  as  we  have  the  straw  all  in  the  barn,  and  it  was  cut  when 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY  GUI/TURK.  79 

we  could  not  work  outdoors.  It  is  hard  to  tell  just  how  thick 
we  put  it  on,  but  probably  something  over  an  inch.  Then  after 
that  we  put  a  light  coat  of  long  straw  over  all  the  land.  We 
put  this  on  so  that,  when  finished,  we  could  just  see  through 
and  catch  sight  of  strawberry  leaves  here  and  there  ;  not  so  as 
to  entirely  hide  them  (they  were  pretty  tall  rank  vines).  The 
cut  straw  was  taken  out  in  our  big  wagon,  which,  with  side- 
boards on,  will  hold  probably  100  bushels.  The  boys  brought 
it  to  me  from  the  wagon  in  bushel  baskets,  from  which  I  scat- 
tered it  out  by  shaking  from  side  to  side.  We  tried  to  spread 
both  cut  and  long  straw  as  evenly  as  possible.  In  the  spring, 
just  as  the  plants  were  pushing  up  through  the  cut  straw,  we 
raked  the  long  straw  into  the  paths  and  trod  it  down.  This 
was  done  on  a  wet  day.  In  fact,  we  went  over  the  piece  three 
times,  when  the  straw  was  soaking  wet,  poking  it  into  the  path 
with  a  fork  or  rake,  and  treading  it  down,  before  we  got  it  all 
to  stay  where  it  was  wanted.  The  cut  straw  was  left  to  mulch 
the  ground  among  the  plants  in  the  rows.  They  came  up 
through  it  without  any  trouble  at  all.  Perhaps  more  could 
have  been  put  on  safely  and  to  advantage.  It  lies  closer  around 
the  plants  than  long  straw,  and  hence  must  answer  the  purposes 
better  for  which  it  was  put  there.  Our  short- stem  varieties  are 
least  hurt  by  frost,  and  probably  are  what  we  shall  have  to 
raise  largely.  This  fine  mulch  so  entirely  covers  the  surface  of 
the  ground  that  it  will  keep  the  berries  clean,  even  where  they 
lie  right  on  it.  The  grower  of  choice  berries,  hoping  to  get 
fancy  prices,  doesn't  want  any  earth  on  his  fruit.  Many  large 
growers  of  market  berries  do  not  mulch  at  all.  Our  market 
berries  from  Cleveland  are  usually  very  sandy  after  a  rain. 

But  when  there  is  no  rain  this  mulch  will  probably  do  the 
most  good  by  checking  the  evaporation  of  moisture  from  the 
soil,  and  thus  giving  us  a  crop  instead  of  a  partial  failure. 
There  is  plenty  of  water  in  the  subsoil  and  earth  beneath,  as  a 
rule,  that  will  be  brought  up  by  capillary  attraction,  if  a  man 
will  only  manage  to  prevent  unnecessary  evaporation.  The 


80  ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

long  straw  makes  a  better  mulch  in  the  paths  than  cut  straw. 
This  is  one  reason  why  we  put  on  both  kinds.  It  is  not  so  easi- 
ly moved  out  of  place  by  tramping,  after  it  is  once  trodden 
down  in  the  paths,  and  then  much  more  of  it  can  be  kept  there 
than  could  be  of  cut  straw.  We  think  we  have  enough  so  it 
will  not  dry  out  under  it,  in  any  weather  It  will  be  nice  to 
get  down  on  to  pick  the  berries.  This  heavy  mulching  will  re- 
tard the  ripening  a  little  ;  but  this  is  no  matter  to  us.  By  sav- 
ing us  from  frost  it  may  be  an  advantage.  Shipped-in  berries 
break  down  the  market  before  we  can  get  any  ripe  any  way, 
the  same  as  it  is  with  early  potatoes  now.  With  us,  choice 
berries  sell  as  well  late  as  early — that  is,  as  early  as  it  would 
be  possible  to  get  any  ripe  here. 

Now,  this  way  of  mulching  is  an  experiment,  from  which 
we  hope  to  get  the  best  results,  for  reasons  given  above.  Up  to 
this  time  (June  2)  I  can  see  no  reason  why  it  is  not  just  perfect. 
Several  fruit-growers  from  other  States  were  here  last  week, 
and,  after  a  careful  examination  of  the  mulching,  and  the 
thinned  wide  matted  rows,  with  the  ground  almost  covered 
with  loaded  fruit-stems,  they  one  and  all  said  it  was  the  finest 
half-acre  of  strawberries  they  ever  saw.  Now,  I  don't  want  to 
brag  ;  but  I  do  believe  I  am  on  the  right  track.  Here  is  a  pho- 
tograph of  the  piece  to  show  you  ;  but,  of  course,  you  can  not 
see  the  fruit,  and  you  wouldn't  know  that  many  of  the  leaves 
are  from  four  to  five  inches  long  ;  but  it  will  give  you  a  general 
idea  of  how  the  patch  looks. 

The  quantity  of  mulching  I  used  may  be  thought  by  some 
to  be  excessive  ;  but  some  very  successful  growers  have  put  on 
more.  Mr.  Sitson,  of  Pennsylvania,  told  me  that  he  had  put 
on  an  acre  as  high  as  1200  bushels  of  forest-leaves  (12  loads 
drawn  on  a  wagon  that  would  hold  100  bushels),  and  then  two 
or  three  tons  of  straw  besides.  He  has  great  faith  in  heavy 
mulching  for  small  fruits.  His  strawberries  were  grown  in 
hills,  or  narrow  rows,  when  they  were  mulched  so  heavily,  and 
were  helped  through  the  mulch,  of  course.  I  think  we  shall 


STRAWBERRY  -  PLANTATION    SET    OUT    IN    THE  SPRING,     AND 
PHOTOGRAPHED  THE  JULY   FOLLOWING. 

6 


82  A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE. 

risk  it  to  put  the  cut  straw  on  a  little  thicker  this  fall.  Mr. 
Crawford  says  he  never  had  any  berries  m olched  too  heavily. 
And  right  here  I  think  comes  in  a  point  that  is  at  least  of  as 
much  importance  as  getting  early  and  late  varieties  ;  namely, 
mulching  heavily  to  keep  the  berries  (a  few  of  them  so  as  to 
prolong  the  season)  from  starting  at  the  usual  time  in  the 
spring.  It  had  better  be  done  with  a  perfect-flowering  kind, 
as,  if  an  imperfect  one  were  kept  back  ten  days,  there  might 
be  a  scarcity  of  pollen  to  do  the  fertilizing.  I  know  of  no  bet- 
ter berry  to  try  this  with  than  the  Gandy.  The  extra  mulch 
should  be  put  on  when  the  ground  is  frozen  solid  in  mid-win- 
ter, or  toward  spring,  and  not  at  the  usual  time  of  mulching. 
It  might  smother  the  plants  to  give  them  a  double  dose  in  No- 
vember ;  but  you  will,  I  think,  run  no  risk  after  the  ground  is 
frozen  deep.  The  effect  then  will  be  to  keep  it  frozen,  or  cold, 
and  the  vines  from  starting  as  soon  as  they  otherwise  would. 
I  find  that  they  will  partly  catch  up  afterward,  however.  It 
seems  to  be  their  nature  to  try  to  be  on  time  ;  but  still,  I  have 
made  probably  a  week's  difference  in  the  time  of  ripening  of 
the  same  variety,  side  by  side.  But,  of  course,  this  kind  of 
work  must  be  done  with  great  care.  The  extra  mulch  must  be 
removed  (I  would  make  it  of  long  straw)  just  in  time — when 
the  ground  has  got  warm  enough  so  the  plants  will  grow  any 
way.  This  work  should  be  done  (the  extra  mulch  removed  and 
the  other  partly)  just  before  a  rain,  or  on  a  cloudy  day. 

Mulching,  like  every  other  good  thing,  has  its  drawbacks. 
The  soil  is  colder,  and  there  will  be  quite  a  frost  on  our  mulch- 
ed berries  when  there  isn't  any  on  the  rest  of  the  field.  I  have 
been  out  nights  and  watched,  and  the  berry  leaves  surrounded 
by  straw  were  the  first  vegetation  on  the  place  to  freeze.  But 
still  we  can  not  get  along  without  the  mulch,  take  it  all  around, 
although  once  in  a  while  it  may  be  a  damage.  Our  berries  are 
probably  a  week  later,  on  an  average,  from  being  mulched,  so 
the  mulching  may  sometimes  keep  them  back  so  they  just  es- 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE.  83 

cape  a  frost.  It  is  about  as  broad  as  it  is  long  ;  but  still,  if  a 
late  frost  does  come,  the  mulching  will  do  harm. 

There  is  a  way  out  of  this  difficulty.  A  mulch  of  long 
straw  or  marsh  hay  can  be  taken  off  in  the  spring,  and  the  sur- 
face kept  stirred  with  a  hoe  or  rake,  about  half  an  inch  deep, 
wherever  any  of  the  gound  is  uncovered  by  vines,  and  then  cut 
straw  or  cut  hay  couM  be  put  back  just  before  the  fruit  begins 
to  ripen.  But  it  can  not  be  done  as  perfectly  as  when  put  on  in 
the  fall,  and  the  plants  grow  up  through  it.  Some  of  our  best 
growers  do  this  way.  Mr.  P.  M.  Augur  does,  except  that  he 
does  not  cut  the  mulch  that  is  returned.  Mr.  J.  M.  Smith  takes 
off  the  mulch  (marsh  hay)  and  hoes  the  surface  that  is  expos- 
ed, and  puts  no  mulch  back.  He  says  the  berries  do  not  get 
very  sandy  on  his  soil. 

There  is  another  point  in  this  connection  that  is  worth 
thinking  of.  You  know  that  a  light  shower  would  do  a  great 
deal  of  good  in  Mr.  Smith's  well-hoed  strawberry-patch.  He 
says  himself  that  he  has  been  astonished  to  see  the  effect  of  a 
light  shower  that  would  hardly  lay  the  dust  in  the  street  for 
more  than  two  hours.  The  change  was  almost  marvelous ; 
while  upon  similar  soils  not  cared  for,  the  suffering  plants 
would  scarcely  be  affected  at  all.  On  a  patch  where  a  straw 
mulch  is  left  on  all  the  season,  will  the  light  showers  do  as 
much  good  as  on  a  field  where  the  earth  mulch  is  used  and  the 
soil  is  all  mellow,  and  exposed  directly  to  the  precious  drops 
from  the  clouds ?  Who  can  tell  us?  I  have  time  and  again 
noticed  the  same  thing  in  the  potato  field.  Where  a  man  has 
done  his  best,  and  the  surface  is  all  fine  and  mellow,  a  light 
shower  will  do  so  much  good  that  one  can  not  fail  to  notice  it 
with  the  eye,  while  it  will  have  no  noticeable  influence  where 
the  soil  is  hard  and  neglected.  Between  bare  surface,  mellow, 
and  the  same  hard  and  unbroken,  in  the  strawberry-field,  there 
can  be  no  question  as  to  which  is  the  better ;  but  between  bare 
surface,  mellow  (the  earth  mulch),  and  the  same  surface  cov- 
ered with  a  straw  mulch,  I  should  not  dare  to  decide  positively. 


84  A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

Either  is  very  good.  I  incline  to  think  the  latter  way  the  most 
practical  for  me.  Certainly  the  straw  once  taken  off  can  not 
be  put  back  among  the  plants  as  evenly  as  my  straw  now  lies. 
Last  spring  (1889)  we  covered  most  of  our  strawberries  two  or 
three  times  to  prevent  their  freezing.  We  used  the  straw  that 
was  between  the  rows  partly,  and  brought  in  considerably  more. 
By  careful  watching  we  found  that  blossoms  not  so  covered 
were  mostly  frozen,  while  those  covered  escaped  injury  from 
the  frost  as  far  as  we  could  see.  But  at  fruiting  time  we  were 
not  as  well  pleased  with  the  result  of  this  plan.  Many  berries 
did  not  amount  to  much.  They  were  small,  or  had  hard  spots, 
or  parts  that  failed  to  grow.  We  thought  this  might  be  owing 
to  injury  to  the  blossom  while  putting  that  straw  on  or  taking 
it  off.  The  short-stem  varieties  were  the  least  injured,  which 
would  be  naturalif  the  straw  or  handling  of  it  did  the  injury. 
But  I  have  not  yet  light  enough  on  this  subject  to  advise  one 
way  or  the  other,  except  to  exercise  caution  in  covering.  Bet- 
ter try  it  on  a  few. 

A  very  successful  grower  wrote  me  last  fall  that  I  could  not 
make  any  better  use  of  perhaps  20  loads  of  manure  (strawy 
horse  manure,  which  is  the  kind  we  have)  than  to  put  it  on  my 
half-acre  of  strawberries  as  a  mulch,  spreading  it  very  evenly, 
and  letting  the  berries  grow  up  through.  The  same  idea  may 
come  to  some  readers  of  this  book,  therefore  I  had  better  ex- 
plain. I  am  a  farmer,  and  not  a  gardener  or  fruit  grower  reg- 
ularly. We  grow  clover,  potatoes,  and  wheat,  in  rotation  in 
our  fields,  and  the  strawberries  take  the  place  of  potatoes  on 
the  half-acre  we  have.  After  the  beriies  are  picked,  the  land 
where  they  are  will  be  plowed  ;  and  then  after  the  potatoes  are 
dug,  this  fall,  the  entire  lot  will  be  sown  to  wheat.  Now,  that 
land  is  rich  enough  to  yield  at  least  40  bushels  of  wheat  per 
acre  now,  which  is  all  that  the  straw  will  stand  up  under,  and 
probably  more.  More  manure  would  ruin  my  chances  for 
wheat,  although  it  would  probably  pay  on  the  berries  Again, 
I  am  a  farmer,  and  need  what  manure  we  make  for  the  fields, 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  85 

and  can  not  rob  them  to  enrich  a  pet  half-acre  for  fruit.  Take 
it  all  around,  I  had  better  put  in  a  little  more  ground  to  berries 
than  to  fertilize  any  higher,  as  I  am  situated.  My  friend  Smith 
is  a  market-gardener,  and  some  truck  crop  will  follow  his  ber- 
ries (never  any  grain),  and  he  can  not  get  his  land  too  rich. 
But  many  friends  can  to  advantage  profit  by  the  advice  sent 
me,  and  mulch  with  manure.  There  is  little  land  rich  enough 
to  grow  wheat  as  large  as  can  possibly  stand  up. 

Along  with  this  question  of  mulching  comes  another  one — 
that  of  irrigation.  I  have  talked  with  several  large  growers, 
some  of  whom  have  tried  it,  about  watering  strawberries  in  a 
dry  time,  and  they  all  said  they  did  not  thiak  it  practicable. 
But  in  Popular  Gardening  for  June,  1888,  that  well-known  au- 
thority, P.  T.  Quinn,  says  it  is  practicable,  and  gives  his  expe- 
rience with  watering  in  1887.  As  he  reports,  he  made  10  acres 
yield  85  bushels  per  acre,  in  spite  of  an  unusually  severe  drouth. 
He  says  there  is  no  doubt  in  his  mind  but  that  those  who  desire 
to  realize  the  largest  results  from  strawberry  growing  will  have 
to  resort  to  irrigation.  Now,  how  much  water  did  he  put  on  ? 
As  I  figure  it,  64  tons  to  the  acre,  twice  each  week,  or  128  tons 
per  week.  Or,  as  a  ton  would  be  a  fair  load  for  soft  ground, 
say  128  loads  of  water  per  acre  each  week.  Do  you  realize 
how  much  labor  that  means,  even  where  the  water  is  right  han- 
dy by,  and  at  the  surface  of  the  ground  ?  It  was  put  on  with  a 
sprinkling-cart,  which  saved  all  labor  in  unloading  ;  but  there 
is  a  good  deal  of  work  connected  with  loading  128  tons  of  wa- 
ter, under  ordinary  circumstances.  To  the  great  mass  of  grow- 
ers this  way  is  simply  impossible,  because  they  could  not  get 
the  water.  I  have  well-water  within  16  feet  of  the  surface. 
With  a  windmill  and  large  tank  I  might  irrigate  a  quarter  of 
an  acre  ;  but  I  do  not  think  Mr.  Quinn  would  advise  me  to  go 
to  this  expense  for  this  purpose  alone.  If  we  had  a  large  wind- 
mill to  raise  water  for  stock,  or  for  use  in  case  of  fire,  we  might 
use  the  surplus  for  irrigation  to  advantage. 

But   no  AT  let   us  look  and   see  how  our  friend  Smith  got  a 


86  A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE. 

crop  in  that  same  dry  year  of  1887,  and  how  large  a  crop  he 
got,  and  compare  it  with  Mr.  Q  's  that  was  saved  by  irrigation. 
The  years  1886  and  1887  were  each  very  dry  seasons  in  Wiscon- 
sin— so  dry  that  ordinary  growers  met  with  almost  entire  fail- 
ure. Mr.  S.  raised,  the  first  year,  over  250  bushels  of  strawber- 
ries per  acre,  and  the  next  year  223.  This  was  without  any  wa- 
tering— I  might  almost  say  without  any  rain.  Now,  how  did 
he  do  it?  He  says  that  drainage  was  at  the  foundation,  and 
plenty  of  manure  and  tillage  did  the  rest.  (There  was  one  oth- 
er important  point,  however,  which  I  will  try  to  speak  of  again; 
viz.,  naturally  moist  soil — plenty  of  water  not  far  down.)  I 
have  told  you  how  he  mulches  and  takes  off  the  straw  or  hay 
in  the  spring,  and  keeps  the  surface,  where  exposed,  slightly 
mellowed  with  hoes,  or,  rather,  mellowed  to  a  slight  depth.  In 
a  dry  year  he  goes  over  the  patch  three  times  with  hoes,  the 
last  time  just  before  beginning  to  pick  the  berries.  Thus  he 
forms  a  mulch  on  the  surface,  which  greatly  checks  evapora- 
tion. Mr.  Smith  says  he  thinks  this  mulch  of  stirred  soil  pro- 
tected the  ground  much  more  perfectly  than  any  straw  mulch 
could  have  done.  Now,  practically,  for  large  fields,  tillage 
makes  the  cheapest  and  best  mulch,  perhaps,  as  far  as  tillage 
can  be  used  ;  but  I  should  like  to  have  had  two  or  three  rows 
of  Mr.  Smith's  berries  covered  among  the  plants  all  through, 
as  well  as  between  the  rows,  with  straw,  the  same  as  mine  are, 
and  know  the  result. 

That  noted  veteran,  J.  J.  Thomas,  says  that  stirred  soil  is 
the  best  possible  mulch  for  newly  set  trees.  N.  Ohmer  tells  of 
selling  $3000  worth  of  raspberries  from  four  acres,  when  his 
neighbors'  berries  all  dried  up  on  the  bushes.  A  slight  mulch, 
made  with  a  cultivator  kept  constantly  moving,  did  it.  But 
would  not  straw  have  done  it  just  as  well  ?  Alas  !  we  do  not 
just  exactly  know.  Another  well-known  authority  in  the 
Northwest,  Mr.  C.  H.  Hamilton,  told  me  that,  in  that  terribly 
dry  year  of  1886,  berry-growers  in  his  vicinity  reaped  rewards 
just  in  proportion  as  they  kept  the  cultivator  and  hoe  moving, 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY  GUI/TURK.  87 

shallow,  to  make  a  mulch  of  earth.  Those  who  did  their  best 
had  little  to  complain  of  ;  those  who  said,  "It  is  of  no  use  ; 
they  will  all  dry  up  any  way,"  got  just  what  they  expected — 
nothing.  Those  who  half  way  tended  to  them  got  a  half-way 
crop. 

Now,  I  hope  all  these  experiences  may  throw  a  little  light 
on  the  irrigation  question.  I  came  back  from  visiting  Mr. 
Smith,  with  the  idea  in  my  head  that  either  mulching  or  tillage 
is  vastly  more  practicable  to  accomplish  the  desired  end  than 
irrigation.  That  idea  still  remains  there. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

MANURING,   AND  THE  USE  OF  FERTILIZERS. 

For  the  market-gardener  who  does  not  grow  small  grain 
crops  after  his  strawberries,  one  of  the  secrets  of  great  success 
will  undoubtedly  be  very  heavy  manuring.  The  strawberry- 
vines  do  not  exhaust  the  land  particularly,  but  they  do  a  good 
deal  of  business  in  a  short  time,  in  the  second  spring  and  early 
summer  ;  and  to  do  all  they  can,  they  must  have  an  abundance 
of  available  fertility  right  at  hand.  From  all  I  have  picked  up 
on  the  subject,  I  would  not  advise  any  one  attempting  to  grow 
200  to  300  bushels  per  acre  to  put  all  this  manure  on  the  land 
before  setting  out  the  plants.  It  has  been  found  sometimes  to 
make  an  overgrowth  of  vines,  which  do  not  produce  fruit  as 
expected.  I  would  rather  put  part  of  the  manure  on  the  pre- 
vious year,  say  enough  to  make  the  land  rich  enough  to  bring 
40  bushels  of  wheat  or  250  of  potatoes  per  acre,  and  then  use 
the  rest  of  the  manure  as  a  top-dressing,  or  mulch,  putting  it 
on  as  soon  as  the  ground  freezes  hard  in  the  fall  or  early  win- 
ter. In  this  way  you  will  get  a  strong  healthy  growth  of  plants, 


88  A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE. 

but  not  an  overgrowth  ;  and  the  last  applied  manure  will  be 
used  largely  for  making  fruit.  I  know  some  think  that  there 
is  stored  up  in  the  crowns,  in  the  fall,  the  substance  from  which 
the  fruit  is  made,  largely  ;  but  nevertheless  I  think  you  will 
find  that  manure  applied  in  the  fall  will  help  greatly  to  increase 
the  crop. 

I  think  it  was  at  Black  River  Falls,  in  Wisconsin,  that  I 
stopped  with  a  Mr.  Lake,  who  beat  any  thing  I  ever  saw  or 
heard  of  in  the  way  of  heavy  manuring.  His  strawberries 
brought  him  $500  an  acre  the  year  before.  The  soil  (?)  was 
about  as  clear,  sharp  sand  as  we  are  able  to  get  here  for  mortar. 
Between  three  and  four  acres  of  his  berries  were  covered  with 
manure  in  such  quantities  as  I  never  saw  put  on  land  before. 
It  did  not  seem  possible  that  it  could  be  spread  so  as  not  to 
smother  the  plants.  It  had  been  drawn  on  snow  and  dumped 
in  piles.  It  was  pretty  much  all  one  pile.  The  snow  had  just 
melted,  and  they  were  getting  ready  to  spread  it  when  I  was 
there.  The  snow  is  all  the  winter  protection  needed  in  that 
latitude.  There  were  over  500  "  pinery  loads  "  on  the  three  or 
four  acres.  Unless  you  have  been  up  in  the  pine  woods  of  the 
Northwest,  and  seen  their  huge  sleds,  you  will  not  have  much 
idea  of  a  "  pinery  load."  The  growth  of  vines  where  this  ma- 
nure was  to  be  spread  was  about  such  as  can  be  found  on  my 
patch  in  the  winter.  But  if  that  immense  quantity  of  manure 
does  not  smother  any  vines,  the  yield  ought  to  be  enormous. 
Mr.  L-  expected  a  good  deal  more  than  $500  an  acre.  Now, 
one  reads  often  of  such  manuring  as  this  without  getting  all 
the  circumstances  connected  with  it.  There  were  two  impor- 
tant ones  in  this  case.  The  manure  did  not  cost  any  thing,  ex- 
cept the  hauling,  and  the  land  was  so  podr  it  would  not  grow  a 
thing  without  heavy  manuring. 

Mr.  J.  M  Smith's  success  is  partly  due  to  heavy  manuring. 
He  uses  about  40  large  loads  per  acre  on  his  land  each  year.  His 
land  is  worth  too  much,  being  near  Green  Bay,  quite  a  city,  to 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY    CULTURE.  89 

practice  rotation  with  clover.  It  is  cheaper  to  get  more  manure 
from  the  city,  and  keep  it  in  garden  crops  all  the  time. 

Hon.  H.  C.  Adams  uses  about  60  loads  per  acre  of  manure, 
drawn  from  the  city,  for  the  most  part,  although  when  I  was  at 
Madison  he  was  keeping  a  fine  lot  of  Jersey  cows  to  make  ma- 
nure. His  sales  of  strawberries  and  cream  to  one  restaurant  in 
the  city  he  told  me  had  been  $1000  in  a  season.  Thirty  or  forty 
cords  of  good  stable  manure  per  acre  are  probably  necessary  to 
raise  such  crops  as  these  men  do  on  land  of  moderate  fertility. 
Of  course,  much  of  this  manure  will  remain  in  the  soil  for  fol- 
lowing crops.  On  land  as  good  as  mine,  with  clover  worked  in 
every  three  years,  I  doubt  whether  more  than  fifteen  to  twenty 
cords  of  manure  could  be  used  on  an  acre  to  advantage,  and 
perhaps  not  that.  But  still,  I  may  be  wrong. 

Mr.  Putney,  in  his  admirable  little  book  on  strawberries, 
says  :  "  All  heavy  crops  are  grown  on  rich  soils.  Measure  the 
profit  by  the  amount  of  manure." 

Friend  Crawford  evidently  speaks  from  experience  when 
1ae  says  :  "It  is  a  mistake  to  grow  strawberries,  or  any  other 
crop  that  requires  hand  labor,  on  poor  land.  The  same  labor 
that  will  produce  50  bushels  on  poor  soil  will  produce  150  on 
rich.  (This  extra  hundred  bushels  will  pay  for  all  the  manure 
needed  to  make  it  rich,  and  a  very  large  profit  besides.  See  ?) 
He  who  cultivates  poor  land  works  for  small  wages.  It  is  too 
much  like  running  a  ten-horse-power  engine  with  a  three  horse- 
power boiler  ;  or  like  driving  a  poor  horse  that  can  draw  but  an 
empty  wagon." 

But  now  the  question  will  come  up  with  some  who  haven't 
stable  manure  in  abundance,  and  can  not  buy  it,  whether  com- 
mercial fertilizers  can  be  made  to  take  its  place.  On  my  own 
soil  they  can  not.  I  have  tested  this  matter  most  thoroughly 
during  the  last  two  years.  Bone  meal  was  tried,  and  also 
Mapes'  special  vine  manure,  made  on  purpose  for  strawberries. 
We  put  on  large  quantities,  in  the  most  approved  style  ;  but 
'they  did  us  no  good  whatever.  It  is  strange,  but  we  have  had 


90  A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY  GUI/TURK. 

the  same  experience  in  the  use  of  commercial  fertilizers  for  po- 
tatoes, also,  on  our  soil.  The  remark  of  Prof.  Green,  of  our 
Experiment  Station,  to  the  effect  that,  where  a  good  heavy 
clover  sod  was  turned  under,  one  need  not  expect  any  returns 
from  commercial  fertilizers,  throws  some  light  on  this  point. 
On  certain  soils,  other  growers  have  had  no  better  returns  from 
fertilizers  than  I  ;  and,  again,  on  some  soils  they  pay  well, 
more  particularly  on  poor  land  or  heavy  soil. 

I  have  taken  single  plants  and  worked  the  fertilizer  into 
the  soil  for  a  foot  around,  all  through  the  season,  with  a  liberal 
hand,  but  failed  to  make  them  show  a  particle  of  gain  over 
their  neighbors,  either  in  foliage,  growth,  or  fruit.  The  same 
thing  has  been  done,  also,  with  whole  rows.  So  I  think  that, 
before  investing  largely  in  fertilizers,  one  had  better  carefully 
test  them  on  his  own  grounds,  and  know  whether  they  pay  or 
not.  As  a  rule,  berry  growers  on  quite  heavy  soils  have  had 
the  best  results  with  fertilizers  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to 
learn.  Mr.  Crawford  says  bone  meal  and  ashes  or  potash  are 
the  best  fertilizers  for  strawberries.  His  soil  is  much  heavier 
than  mine,  and  I  presume  it  does  not  get  a  heavy  clover  sod 
turned  under  once  in  three  years.  I  will  not  attempt  to  say 
(because  I  do  not  know)  why  fertilizers  do  not  show  good  re- 
sults wherever  more  stable  manure  would  on  my  farm  ;  but  I 
know,  from  years  of  experience,  that  they  do  not. 

To  show  more  clearly  the  different  results  on  different  soils, 
and  to  encourage  all  to  test  this  matter  thoroughly  for  them- 
selves, I  quote  some  from  a  report  published  in  the  Rural  New- 
Yorker  : 

"  I  have  been  experimenting  with  fertilizers  on  strawber- 
ries, but  have  not  been,  to  any  great  extent,  successful  either 
in  increasing  the  size  or  improving  the  quality  of  the  fruit.  A 
plot  on  which  no  fertilizer  was  used  produced  as  much  and  as 
good  fruit  as  any  of  the  fertilized  plots  near  it.  This  has  been 
the  result  of  my  experiments  for  five  years.  A  few  years  ago 
Mr.  Hale  recommended  a  heavy  application  of  bone  dust,  two 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  91 

parts;  ground  fish,  two  parts;  muriate  of  potash,  one  part. 
He  said  in  substance  :  '  If  you  want  a  good  crop,  use  1200  Ibs. 
to  the  acre ;  if  you  want  a  better  crop,  use  one  ton  to  the  acre  ; 
and  if  you  want  a  big  crop,  put  on  all  you  can  afford.  Then 
shut  your  eyes  and  put  on  as  much  more,  and  it  will  pay  every 
time  '  Early  in  the  spring  of  1882  I  prepared  a  tenth  of  an 
acre,  carefully  measured  and  staked  off,  and  applied  400  pounds 
of  the  above  mixture,  at  the  rate  of  two  tons  per  acre.  It  was 
thoroughly  harrowed  in  after  plowing,  and  the  plants  were  set 
three  or  four  weeks  later.  There  were  six  rows.  Three  rows 
were  kept  in  hills,  and  three  were  allowed  to  form  matted  rows. 
The  plot  was  part  of  an  acre  set  at  the  same  time,  and  all  were 
treated  alike  as  to  cultivation,  etc.  Variety,  Wilson  (same  as 
Mr.  Smith  manures  so  heavily).  Great  was  my  disappoint- 
ment when  I  found,  in  the  picking  season  of  1883,  that  the 
rows  not  fertilized  produced  as  many  and  as  good  berries  as  the 
fertilized  ones.  T'«  e  growth  of  plants  was  a  little  stronger  on 
the  fertilized  plot  than  on  the  rest  of  the  ground.  In  1884, 
however,  there  was  quite  an  appreciable  increase  in  the  size  of 
the  fruit,  but  not  enough  to  render  the  fertilizing  profitable." 

Now,  Mr.  Hale  was  right,  of  course,  for  his  farm,  and  so 
was  the  other  man  for  his,  and  still  they  arrive  at  entirely  op- 
posite conclusions.  It  is  the  old  story — circumstances  alter 
cases.  We  must  know  our  own  soil  and  be  our  own  experi- 
menters. We  can  get  hints  and  ideas  from  others  ;  but  on 
some  points  like  this  we  must  learn  by  experience,  and  be  care- 
ful that  we  do  not  lose  too  much  while  learning. 


92  A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

PICKING  AND  MARKETING — A  FARMER  WHO  DIDN'T  HAVE 
THE  PRICE  FIXED  FOR  HIM — GROW  FEWER  BERRIES  AND 
BETTER  ONfcS. 

In  the  small  way  that  we  grow  strawberries,  we  have  not 
yet  had  occasion  to  hire  any  pickers  by  the  quart.  We  have 
had  regular  help  enough  to  do  all  the  picking  ourselves,  so  we 
do  not  need  to  have  the  berries  measured  as  picked.  We  use 
common  peck  baskets  (grape-baskets)  to  pick  in  ;  and  when 
the  picker  gets  four  or  five  quarts  they  are  brought  to  the  cel- 
lar and  emptied  into  half-bushel  drawers  (those  that  are  used 
in  the  common  two- bushel  stand).  The  berry-patch  is  right 
close  to  the  house,  so  it  is  little  trouble  to  take  the  berries  to 
the  cellar.  Sometimes  when  it  is  cool,  however,  we  fill  the 
drawers  under  a  tree.  Oar  dealers  here  prefer  to  have  the  ber- 
ries in  bulk,  in  these  drawers,  rather  than  put  up  in  quart  bas- 
kets. They  say  people  like  to  see  the  berries  measured,  and 
see  what  they  are  buying  ;  and  then  I  suppose  a  well-filled  half- 
bushel  drawer  will  measure  out  18  or  20  quarts,  sometimes. 
The  drawers  are  certainly  less  trouble  to  us  than  quart  boxes. 
They  cost  40  cents  per  stand  of  two  bushels  (four  drawers),  if 
bought  new  of  a  manufacturer.  Second-hand  ones  can  be  had 
of  any  dealer  who  buys  Southern  berries.  Mr.  Farnsworth 
writes  me  that  he  buys  second-hand  stands  in  Toledo,  nearly  as 
good  as  new,  for  25  cents  each.  Dealers  here  ask  40  cents,  as 
the  Cleveland  firms  allow  them  that  for  them  if  sent  back.  But 
I  guess  they  have  the  freight  to  pay,  and  could  afford  to  sell 
for  about  30  cents. 

We  do  not  measure  the  berries  into  the  drawers,  but  simply 
fill  them  as  full  as  we  can.  Mr.  Crawford  says  a  bushel  of 
strawberries  should  weigh  between  38  and  39  pounds,  but  he 
always  gives  40.  We  can  not  get  enough  in  our  drawers  so 
they  will  weigh  over  40  pounds.  When  we  sell  less  than  half  a 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.          .  93 

bushel  (to  some  neighbor  who  calls  here,  as  we  do  not  retail  in 
town)  we  weigh  them  instead  of  measuring,  giving  1^  pounds 
for  a  quart.  This  saves  all  extra  handling,  which,  of  course, 
is  injurious  to  the  berries.  When  picking,  our  folks  put  either 
a  quart  or  two-quart  tin  can  in  one  end  of  the  basket,  and  into 
this  they  put  all  small  berries,  and  any  that  for  any  reason  are 
not  strictly  first  class.  We  have  used  these  for  canning,  or  sold 
them  at  a  reduced  price  to  others  for  that  purpose.  Parties 
have  told  us  that  they  found  them  far  superior  to  common, 
shipped  in  market  berries,  as  there  was  no  waste  to  them.  I 
do  not  thiuk  they  are  quite  as  nice  for  canning,  unless  you 
mash  them  up  and  make  strawberry  jam  of  them.  However, 
the  difference  is  mostly  in  the  looks.  I  hardly  think  one  could 
often  tell  the  difference  by  the  taste  alone,  if  his  eyes  were  clos- 
ed and  the  berries  mashed  up.-  But  my  wife  thinks  the  looks 
fully  as  important  as  the  taste  ;  and  I  am  sure  that,  if  she  could 
see  them,  small  canned  berries  would  not  taste  as  good  to  her 
as  large  ones. 

These  small  berries  (not  very  small,  by  any  means)  do  not 
cost  any  thing  except  the  trouble  of  picking  separately,  as  the 
large  choice  ones  will  bring  in  our  market  as  much  as  or  moie 
than  the  entire  crop  would  unsorted.  We  live  near  a  town  of 
half  a  dozen  or  so  stores  and  groceries.  The  first  year  we  grew 
berries,  not  a  word  was  said  in  advance  to  any  dealer  about  our 
having  any.  They  knew  nothing  about  it.  Many  readers  of 
this  little  book  will  know  that  the  writer  has  always  preached 
that  there  is  plenty  of  room  for  excellence  in  any  line,  and  he 
determined  to  test  this  matter  in  the  berry  line  in  our  little 
town.  There  is  never  any  scarcity  of  berries  here,  as  we  are 
close  to  Cleveland,  and  there  are  several  small  local  growers 
also.  Now,  into  this  market,  where  it  would  seem  that  a  new 
man  stood  no  chance,  we  determined  to  go,  entirely  unan- 
nounced, and  st  11  what  we  had,  on  the  merits  of  the  article. 
Nothing  but  large,  fine,  choice  berries,  just  ripe  enough  to  be 
at  their  best  for  eating,  were  taken.  With  these  we  usually 


94  A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE. 

went  in  twice  a  day,  so  as  to  have  them  in  perfect  condition, 
and  we  sold  to  dealers  only,  unless  some  one  else  wanted  half  a 
bushel  and  we  had  too  many  for  the  grocer. 

The  first  berries  we  took  in  were  carried  to  the  store  of  Mr. 
R.  P.  Williams,  an  old  merchant  with  whom  we  had  dealt  for 
25  years.  He  looked  at  them  with  considerable  surprise. 
"  Why,"  he  said,  "  I  didn't  know  you  grew  any  berries." 

"  We  shall  have  a  few  bushels  to  sell  this  year  like  these." 

"  What  do  you  want  for  them  ?  " 

"  They  ought  to  retail  for  15  cents." 

"  Why,  we  have  been  selling  for  12^  cents  for  some  time." 

"  Never  mind  that ;  I  think  these  will  sell  for  15." 

Just  then  Mr.  Williams'  head  clerk,  Mr.  Blackman,  came 
up  and  said  :  "  Yes,  sir  ;  those  berries  will  sell  for  15  cents." 

"Well,"  Mr.  Williams  said,  "if  they  do  I  will  pay  you  $4 
a  bushel." 

A  clerk  reported  to  me  afterward,  that  the  first  half-bushel 
went  in  twenty  minutes  after  they  were  put  in  sight.  Folks  had 
then  got  a  taste  of  berries  such  as  few  ever  get  in  market,  and 
there  was  no  more  trouble  about  prices.  You  see  berries  from 
a  distance  have  to  be  picked  before  fully  ripe  to  stand  shipping, 
and  in  quality  they  can  not  compare  with  those  fully  ripened 
on  the  vines.  Again,  in  how  many  small  towns  can  one  buy 
large  choice  Downings  and  others  of  our  sweetest  and  finest- 
flavored  berries  ? 

Having  too  many  berries  for  Mr.  Williams,  I  one  day  called 
on  another  grocer,  Mr.  G.  V.  Miller,  and  asked  him  if  he  want- 
ed any.  He  said  he  had  been  selling  about  a  bushel  a  day,  and 
then  had  a  bushel  and  a  half  on  hand,  and  they  were  getting 
stale,  they  went  so  slowly.  He  was  retailing  them  at  10  cents 
a  quart.  He  wanted  to  know  what  I  asked  for  mine,  although 
he  could  not  use  any  more.  I  told  him  $4  a  bushel.  Well,  he 
looked  just  sorry  for  my  simpleness,  and  look  out  and  handed 
me  a  bill  from  a  Cleveland  house  which  showed  that  his  berries, 
received  that  morning,  cost  him  only  $1.75  a  bushel.  In  an- 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE.  95 

swer  I  said  :  "  Now,  my  friend,  come  out  and  see  what  I  have, 
any  way  ;  no  matter  about  buying  them."  "Oh,  yes  !  I  should 
like  to  see  what  you  raise,"  he  said,  coming  out  to  the  wagon  ; 
and  didn't  I  enjoy  the  sudden  change  from  utter  indifference 
that  came  over  his  countenance  when  I  laid  off  the  cover? 
Now  I  will  give  you  exactly  all  that  was  said. 

"Are    these  berries   the   same   all   through   as  on   top?" 

(Wasn't  I  glad  just  then  that  they  were?) 

"Yes."  ^ 

"  Then  bring  them  in." 

It  took  perhaps  ten  seconds  to  make  the  sale  after  the  ber- 
ries were  uncovered.  I  left  as  soon  as  possible,  but  not  too 
soon  to  see  him  measuring  them  out  to  customers  as  fast  at  15 
cents  a  quart  as  he  could.  Trade  had  suddenly  stiffened  !  Aft- 
er that,  Mr.  Miller  had  our  berries  fresh  twice  a  day  through 
the  season.  At  the  end  of  the  season,  Mr.  Williams  said  to  me 
when  settling  up  : 

' '  We  never  managed  our  strawberry  business  so  satisfacto- 
rily all  around  as  we  have  this  year.  Everybody  was  pleased 
and  satisfied,  and  there  was  no  waste  or  loss.  We  have  made  a 
little  something,  and  helped  you  to  get  a  paying  price." 

Now,  this  is  an  exact  statement  of  how  we  came  out  in  our 
first  attempt  t©  get  into  the  upper-  story  of  strawberry- selling. 
But  not  the  half  has  been  told,  by  any  means.  Those  berries 
were  the  talk  of  the  town  for  some  days,  and  ever  so  many  peo- 
ple spoke  to  us  about  them — how  choice  they  were,  etc. ,  and 
were  anxious  to  know  how  long  they  would  hold  out.  I  couldn't 
help  but  think  of  the  old  cry  that  the  farmer  has  the  price  of 
every  thing  he  sells  as  well  as  what  he  buys  fixed  by  the  dealer. 
This  farmer  fixed  his  own  price  once,  that  is  certain. 

Please  do  not  think  I  am  telling  all  this  to  brag  of  what  we 
did.  We  have  had  our  fill  of  glory  and  praise  from  our  friends 
here  in  town  ;  but  I  do  want  to  show  that  it  pays  to  practice  ex- 
cellence. And  many  others  have  done  far  better  than  we.  A 
friend  in  Indiana  told,  in  the  Country  Gentleman  last  year, 


96  A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

about  how  hie  grew  Sharpless  berries  on  heavy  soil,  in  hills,  and 
they  were  so  large  and  fine  that  "  they  never  brought  less  than 
20  cents  a  quart  in  his  market,  while  Crescents  and  others  were 
selling  as  low  as  5  cents,  and  bushels  of  them  spoiling,  and 
not  finding  sale  even  at  that  price." 

I  could  fill  pages  with  just  such  experiences.  We  have  a 
great  many  people  in  this  country  now  who  do  not  think  of 
price  if  the  quality  is  high  enough.  I  was  talking  with  a  friend 
last  winter  who  makes  fancy  butter  for  private  customers,  and 
they  are  not  wealthy  city  people  either.  He  gets  50  cents  a 
pound.  "There  is  no  money  that  would  tempt  me,"  he  said, 
"  in  butter  at  market  price,  say  25  cents  a  pound.  But  if  I  can 
get  25  cents  a  pound  for  a  little  extra  care  and  skill  in  making 
and  marketing,  then  there  is  big  money  in  it." 

Now,  it  is  a  fact  that  most  of  this  man's  customers  have  an 
income  of  less  than  $1200  a  year,  and  still  they  are  ready  to  pay 
two  prices  for  a  gilt-edged  article,  that  is  strictly  tiptop  every 
time,  delivered  with  the  fresh  aroma  in  it,  in  the  finest  shape 
known  to  the  art.  It  is  a  good  deal  the  same  with  the  straw- 
berry-grower who  has  a  quarter  or  half  an  acre,  such  as  I  am 
writing  for  particularly.  He  will  not  make  much  selling  ber- 
ries at  5  or  6  cents  a  quart.  It  is  a  grand  thing,  however,  that 
many  large  growers,  like  Mr.  Farnsworth,  can  grow  common 
berries  cheaply  for  the  masses,  who  couldn't  afford  to  pay  for 
the  best,  and  must  have  cheap  ones  or  go  without. 

As  hinted  at  above,  I  would  have  the  berries,  in  whatever 
package  they  are  sold,  just  the  same  all  through.  A  reputation 
can  soon  be  built  up  in  this  way.  Hon.  H.  C.  Adams  told  me 
he  thought  it  pud  him  to  "place  "  all  the  berries  on  the  top  of 
his  quart  boxes  which  he  sells  in — that  is,  turn  them  all  stems 
down.  This,  of  course,  is  honest,  where  the  berries  are  the 
same  all  through  the  basket,  as  it  is  simply  turning  the  berries 
so  they  will  look  attractive.  But  it  is  not  honest,  under  any 
circumstances,  to  "  top  out  "  a  box  or  drawer  of  berries.  Ask 
a  paying  price  for  a  choice  article,  and  then  give  good  measure 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE  97 

and  straight  goods  every  time,  and  you  will  make  money,  and 
it  will  be  clean  money. 

I  should  like  to  have  you  read  the  following  lines,  selected 
out  of  an  article  from  Prof.  L.  H.  Bailey,  of  Michigan  Agricul- 
tural College,  which  I  think  first  appeared  in  Popular  Garden- 
ing. They  express  my  ideas  in  better  words  than  I  could  put 
them  in  : 

"The  tendency  of  fruit-growing  is  to  specialize,  to  grow 
one  or  two  products  on  a  large  scale,  and  solely  for  the  money 
there  is  in  them.  Fruits  which  endure  rough  handling  and 
long  shipments  are  taking  the  places  of  the  better  fruits.  The 
person  who  depends  solely  upon  the  city  markets  can  not  know 
or  appreciate  good  fruit.  Quality  must  always  suffer  when  des- 
sert fruits  are  grown  and  handled  by  the  wholesale.  The  flavor 
and  relish  of  the  individual  varieties,  the  appreciation  of  deli- 
cacy of  taste,  the  appetizing  influence  of  the  best  and  freshest 
products  of  the  thrifty  garden  do  not  appear.  The  commercial 
tendency  of  the  times  is  toward  the  money  rather  than  the 
product. 

"  Still,  there  is  an  abundance  of  people  who  are  willing  to 
pay  for  the  best.  Every  town  contains  such  people.  They 
mike  it  possible  for  the  gardener  who  is  ambitious,  to  exercise 
his  skill  in  the  production  of  the  very  best  product.  I  rarely 
advise  my  students  to  pursue  horticulture  on  a  large  scale.  I 
urge  them  to  grow  less  and  grow  better.  Superior  fruits  com- 
mand remunerative  prices  at  nearly  all  times." 

These  are  excellent  words  for  any  one  growing  strawberries 
on  a  small  scale,  to  ponder  over.  Grow  larger  ones.  Grow 
choicer  ones.  Get  them  to  the  consumer  in  more  perfect  con- 
dition. You  can  not  hope  to  compete  with  large  growers  in 
the  ordinary  market,  nor  can  they  hurt  your  trade  much  in  the 
direction  pointed  out  so  forcibly  by  Prof.  Bailey. 


98  ABC  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

SHAU,  WE  LET  OUR  BEDS  BEAR  MORE  THAN  ONE  YEAR? — 
MR.  SMITH'S  GREAT  YIELDS,  AND  TWO  OF  THE  SECRETS — 
SOME  FIGURES  ON  THE  COST  OF  GROWING  BERRIES. 

You  will  learn,  from  the  first  part  of  this  book,  that  the 
writer  thinks  it  best  to  plow  strawberry-vines  under  after  they 
have  borne  one  crop.  One  gets  the  finest  fruit  and  the  largest 
crop  the  first  year.  It  seems  to  be  but  little  more  work,  if  any, 
to  set  out  a  new  bed  than  to  clear  up  and  care  for  an  old  one. 
Keeping  a  bed  more  than  one  year  in  bearing  gives  all  injurious 
insects  a  better  chance  to  multiply.  Some  must  be  set  out 
every  year,  any  way,  in  order  to  have  proper  plants  for  setting. 
Do  not  be  so  unwise  as  to  set  plants  from  an  old  bed.  On  this 
point  Mr.  Smith  says  :  "  If  we  allow  a  strawberry-plant  to  bear 
fruit,  and  then  plant  the  weakly,  dwarfed  runners  that  it  pro- 
duces, we  can  not  hope  for  a  healthy,  vigorous  continuation  of 
the  variety." 

Mr.  S.  has  grown  the  Wilson  since  1861,  and  has  found  no 
berry  yet  that  can  go  ahead  of  it  for  market.  He  plants  but 
once  on  the  same  ground,  using  only  healthy,  vigorous  runners 
(or  new  plants)  from  plants  that  have  not  borne  fruit,  and  con- 
siders this  one  great  secret  of  his  success.  So  if  you  let  a  bed 
stand  more  than  one  season,  at  least  set  out  a  few  plants  each 
year  so  as  to  keep  vigorous  and  proper  plants  for  setting. 

There  are  quite  a  number  of  our  best  growers  who  agree 
with  me  in  regard  to  keeping  a  bed  in  bearing  only  one  year  ; 
but  there  are  also  some  who  do  not.  You  shall  have  both  sides. 
Mr.  W.  W.  Farnsworth  has  kept  his  bed  in  bearing  two  years. 
I  asked  him  if  the  second  crop  was  not  mostly  smaller  and  in- 
ferior fruit.  He  said  they  got  some  choice  fruit  at  the  first 
pickings,  and  the  berries  ripened  somewhat  earlier  than  on  the 
newly  set  plantations.  Further,  his  pickers  always  wanted  a 


ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE.  99 

good  many  berries,  and  he  let  them  have  the  last  pickings  on 
the  old  patches  at  a  reduced  price.  But  still  the  last  time  I 
heard  friend  F.  talk  at  an  institute  on  this  subject,  he  seemed 
almost  converted  to  the  plan  of  leaving  his  berries  to  bear  but 
one  season.  At  any  rate,  he  spoke  of  that  as  "  probably  the 
best  way. ' '  I  think  he  would  be  more  positive  where  one  grows, 
say,  only  part  of  an  acre  a  year,  and  that  is  the  class  of  grow- 
ers I  am  writing  to. 

Mr  Adams,  of  Wisconsin,  when  I  was. there,  left  his  beds 
to  bear  two  years.  He  says  they  will  not  produce  as  well  the 
second  year,  but  that  the  second  crop  costs  him  but  little  more 
than  the  picking.  His  land  must  be  quite  free  from  weeds 
and  grass.  My  friend  Sisson,  of  Pennsylvania,  says  he  lets  his 
berries  bear  two  years.  The  first  jear  they  are  kept  in  hills,  or 
quite  narrow  rows.  After  the  fruit  has  been  picked  he  plows 
the  soil  away  from  the  rows  on  each  side,  leaving  a  strip  only 
about  eight  inches  wide.  This  plowing  buries  the  mulch  and 
vines  so  that  they  soon  decay.  Meanwhile  he  cleans  the  little 
eight-inch  strip  that  was  left,  with  hoes.  After  two  or  three 
weeks,  the  soil  plowed  up  in  the  middle  between  the  rows  is 
worked  back  by  the  use  of  the  cultivator,  and  then  the  runners 
are  allowed  to  spread  and  form  a  matted  row.  Mr.  S.  is  an  ex- 
cellent cultivator,  and  when  berries  are  left  to  bear  two  seasons 
perhaps  his  plan  is  as  good  as  any.  The  weak  point  is,  that 
the  parent  plants  that  send  runners  out  to  make  his  matted 
rows  are  old,  exhausted  plants,  which  Mr.  Smith  would  think 
not  capable  of  producing  the  most  vigorous  of  runners.  Of 
course,  heavy  manuring,  and  his  most  excellent  tillage,  would 
somewhat  balance  this.  He  will  get  a  large  crop,  any  way. 
But  couldn't  he  get  a  larger  one? 

I  have  had  much  to  say  about  friend  Smith,  of  Green  Bay. 
Let  me  now  tell  you  just  what  he  did  the  year  before  I  was 
there,  which  was  a  very  dry  year  too.  I  saw  3^  acres  in  his 
40-acre  garden,  that  yielded  $2215.24  from  strawberries.  I 
looked  over  his  sales  and  tcok  the  figures  right  from  his  books, 


100          ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CUMURE. 

at  his  request.  S'xty  thousand  plants  were  taken  from  the 
same  land  in  the  spring,  worth  $300,  and  then  between  $700 
and  $800  worth  of  celery  and  cabbages  were  grown  on  the  same 
3)£  acres  after  the  berries  were  plowed  under  I  could  not  get 
the  exact  figures  on  the  vegetables,  as  they  were  not  all  sold. 
These  figures  fairly  take  one's  breath  away.  Mr.  S.'s  largest 
yield  for  a  single  season  was  446  bushels  per  acre.  Certainly 
we  may  all  give  careful  attention  to  all  friend  Smith  saj  s  on 
any  point  connected  with  strawberry-growing.  But  I  believe  I 
have  not  given  you  what  seemed  to  me  one  of  the  great  secrets 
of  his  wonderful  success.  Heavy  manuring,  and  the  most 
thorough  tillage  that  man  knows  how  to  give,  and  the  choicest 
plants  that  can  be  grown,  with  such  a  man  as  Mr.  Smith  at  the 
helm,  are  important  factors  ;  but  there  was  one  more  point,  as 
it  seemed  to  me  :  Mr.  S.'s  land  is  very  sandy,  and  but  a  few 
feet  above  the  water  of  the  bay.  There  is  abundant  moisture 
at  all  times.  Capillary  attraction  brings  it  up  readily,  through 
the  mellow  sand,  and  with  Mr.  Smith's  tillage  his  crops  suffer 
little  or  none  for  water,  whether  it  rains  or  not.  He  has  tile- 
drained  and  surface-drained,  in  beds,  his  land,  to  take  the  sur- 
face water,  after  a  shower,  off  quickly,  sandy  as  it  is  ;  but  there 
is  a  never -failing  supply  but  a  little  way  down.  His  land  is 
notably  such  as  I  spoke  of  in  a  previous  chapter  as  best  for 
strawberries — well  drained,  but  moist.  Much  of  your  success, 
my  friends,  may  depend  on  your  selecting  land  of  this  charac- 
ter. 

Now,  some  readers,  perhaps,  would  like  to  know  about 
what  the  profits  are  in  strawberry -growing  on  a  large  scale.  It 
has  been  difficult  to  get  figures  on  this  point  from  growers.  In 
fact,  the  only  man  who  has  followed  the  business  for  years,  and 
would  tell  just  what  he  made,  was  Mr.  Adams,  of  whom  I  have 
spoken  before.  The  following  are  his  figures  as  to  the  cost  of 
growing  an  acre,  on  the  average,  for  a  term  of  years  : 


A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  101 

Plowing $  1  25 

Harrowing 1  00 

60  loads  of  manure 30  00 

7000  plants 28  00 

Planting 5  00 

Hoeing  7  times 21  00 

Mulching 8  00 

Work  second  spring 5  00 

Picking 50  00 

Boxes ..  25  00 


Total |174  25 

His  average  crop  for  a  term  of  years  has  been  5000  quarts 
per  acre.  The  cost  of  production,  then,  not  including  land 
and  marketing,  is  about  3^  cents  per  quart.  The  actual  price 
he  has  received  on  the  average  has  been  8  cents  a  quart,  or  $400 
an  acre.  This  leaves  him  a  net  profit,  certainly  of  $200  per 
acre— a  fine  showing.  Knowing  the  gentleman  well,  I  have  no 
doubt  it  is  a  fair  statement  of  what  he  has  done.  His  manure 
cost  him  but  50  cents  a  load,  delivered,  from  the  city.  It  is 
very  seldom  one  can  get  it  at  that  price.  Some  of  Mr.  Adams' 
figures  would  seem  very  low  to  a  beginner.  For  example,  I 
could  not  set  7000  plants  for  twice  $5  00  ;  but  I  am  told  that  an 
expert  would  set  that  many  well  in  3  days.  I  can  hoe  an  acre 
for  $3,  however,  so  I  am  up  to  Mr.  Adams  in  that  respect.  My 
man  will  hoe  our  half-acre  in  a  day,  nicely.  By  the  way,  I  have 
just  noticed  that  our  friend  forgot  to  put  in  the  cultivating  ; 
but  that  would  not  add  a  great  deal  to  the  cost. 

Now,  friends,  take  just  this  thought  with  you  in  parting  : 
Do  not  be  satisfied  with  any  thing  short  of  the  very  best. 


102          ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

YIELD  OF  OUR  HALF  ACRE  THIS  YEAR  (1890)— QUALITY  RIDES 
OVER  A  GLUTTED  MARKET — NUMEROUS  NOTES  ON  THE  SEA- 
SON'S EXPERIENCE. 

Since  writing  the  previous  chapters  the  berry  season  has 
come  and  gone,  and  a  few  words  in  regard  to  this  year's  expe- 
rience may  be  of  interest.  The  cash  sales  from  our  patch  were 
$237.00.  We  were  painting  house  and  barn,  and  building  an 
addition  to  our  covered  barnyard,  during  the  berry  season  ;  and 
as  we  had  to  board  the  carpenters,  tinners,  painters,  etc.,  as 
well  as  four  men  of  our  own,  besides  our  own  folks,  we  had  a 
very  large  "  home  market  "  for  berries.  We  certainly  ate,  can- 
ned, "jammed,"  and  gave  away  $50  worth,  probably  more,  as 
some  days  I  know  by  actual  measurement  that  we  ate  three 
pecks.  We  may  safely  say  that  the  total  value  of  the  crop  at 
wholesale  prices  was  $287.  No  attempt  was  made  to  get  the 
last  dollar  out  of  them,  or  the  receipts  might  have  been  pushed 
up  to  $300.  We  all  got  pretty  tired  of  picking  ;  and  when  the 
yield  got  so  light  that  there  was  not  much  profit  in  it  we  let 
them  go  and  told  the  neighbors  to  help  themselves.  One  lady 
picked  more  than  a  bushel.  As  we  had  taken  up  plants  from 
one  end  of  the  patch,  taking  all  clean  as  we  went,  the  above 
yield  was  obtained  from  several  rods  less  than  half  an  acre.  I 
haven't  figured  up  the  exact  yield  in  bushels  ;  but  it  was  over 
100,  or  considerably  over  200  bushels  per  acre.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  three  bushels  the  berries  were  all  sold  at  the  door, 
or  in  our  little  town  of  Hudson.  That  we  were  able  to  do  this 
was  a  surprise  to  us.  j^There  are  plenty  of  other  growers  here, 
and  the'streets  were  full  of  peddlers  all  through  the  season. 
They  took  the  berries  from  door  to  door.  We  sold  to  dealers 
only,  or  to  families  who  wanted  a  half-bushel  drawer.  I  fixed 
the  price  of  our  best  selected  berries  at  $3.20  a  bushel,  and  the 


ABC  OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.          103 

small  ones  for  canning  at  $2,  and  held  it  there  without  any  re- 
gard to  how  low  others  were  selling.     I  believed  our  town  peo- 
ple would  appreciate  a  good  thing,  and  be  willing  to  pay  for  it, 
and  they  were  ;  and   after  the  first  day  they  took  all  we  had,  so 
that  we  did  not  have  a  single  quart  of  berries   spoil  after  they 
were  picked  ;  and  the  demand  was  so  great  that  we  could  not 
get  a  chance  to  can  any  for  ourselves  until   the  very  last,  when 
we  shut  down  and   positively  refused  to  sell  any  more.     Noth- 
ing in  the  world  but  extra  quality  gave  us  this  good   market  in 
this  season  when  berries  were  so  plentiful.     The  markets  were 
all  glutted  with  common   berries  ;  but  such   as  ours  were  not 
crowded  in  the  least,  and   never  will   be.     I  went   through  the 
market  in  Cleveland  during  the  best  of  the  season,  and  through 
the  most   fancy  groceries  on   Euclid  Avenue  ;  and  in   all  that 
great   city  there  was   not  half  a  bushel  of  berries  that  would 
match  what  I  was  furnishing  to   our  grocers.     Now,  talk  is 
cheap  ;  but  photographs  tell  the  truth.     It  occurred  to  me,  when 
I  was  going  to  town  one  day,  that  a  picture  of  the  berries  in 
the  drawers,  just  as  sold  to  customers,  would  be  more  convinc- 
ing as  to  the  soundness  of  my  method  of  culture  than  pages  of 
mere  writing,  and  so  I  drove  to  the  gallery  and   had   some  pic- 
tures taken.     The  berries  are  exactly  the  same  size  all  through 
the  drawers  (not  "  topped  "  at  all),  and  these  drawers  were  no 
better  than  many  others  which  our  dealers  had.     One  picture 
shows  the  Sterling  and  Haverland.     When  the  Gandies  first 
came,  some  eight  days  after  the  others,  they  were  so  magnifi- 
cently large  and  fine  that  I  got  a  picture  of  two  drawers  of  them 
also.     They  sold  readily  at  $4  a  bushel.     These  two  drawers 
that  you   see  a  picture  of  brought  me  $4,  and   retailed  just  as 
fast  as  they  could  be  handed  out,  almost,  at   15  cents  a  quart, 
when,  I  was  told,  people  were  peddling  berries  at  8  or  10  cents, 
and  when  you  could  buy  common  berries   in  Cleveland   for  $2 
a  stand  of  two  bushels.     By  the  way,  I   give  you  a  picture  of  a 
drawer  of  these  common  berries,  so  you  can  better  judge  the 
size  of  the  others.     My  wife  says  these  are  better  than  the  aver- 


§i 

si 


106          ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

age  of  what  we  used  to  get  from  Cleveland.  Farmers  complain 
much  about  there  being  no  money  in  80  cent  wheat.  I  should 
think  there  must  be  a  great  deal  more  than  in  berries  sold  by 
the  dealers  at  $1  a  bushel.  The  dollar-a-bushel  man  has  to  take 
just  what  he  can  get,  and  has  the  world  to  compete  with  ;  the 
$4-a -bushel  man  can  set  his  price,  and  his  market  will  never  be 
glutted.  I  do  hope  my  experience  may  teach  this  lesson.  I 
was  anxious  to  go  to  a  fancy  store  on  Euclid  Avenue  with  a 
bushel  of  those  magnificent  berries,  just  to  see  what  I  could 
get  for  them  ;  but  our  people  wanted  them  all,  and  more,  and 
we  let  them  have  them. 

But  the  first  day  we  picked  almost  too  many  to  suddenly 
put  on  our  little  market,  and  early  the  next  morning  I  drove 
to  Akron  (12  miles)  with  three  bushels,  to  see  what  I  could  do, 
not  dreaming  that  Hudson  would  take  all  we  had  after  that. 
Before  I  got  there  I  met  men  returning  who  said  I  might  as 
well  turn  around,  as  Akron  never  knew  such  a  glut  of  berries 
before,  and  no  more  could  be  sold  at  any  price.  But  I  went  on. 
In  fact,  my  spirits  began  to  rise.  I  cared  little  about  the  three 
bushels  I  had;  but  I  thought  to  myself,  "Here  is  just  the 
chance  I  want  to  prove — whether  or  not  excellence  pays."  I 
drove  up  before  a  grocery,  the  owner  of  which  I  knew  appre- 
ciated a  good  article.  I  found  him  at  his  desk,  and  for  a  time 
could  not  induce  him  to  look  at  the  berries  at  all.  "  What  is 
the  use?  "  he  says.  "  I  know  they  are  nice,  from  the  potatoes 
we  have  bought  of  you  ;  but  we  are  overloaded,  and  can  not 
sell  what  we  have,  and  there  are  so  many  new  growers  that  I 
can  not  see  any  prospect  for  any  thing  better.  The  growers 
can  not  sell  any  more  to  dealers,  and  now  they  are  going  from 
house  to  house,  selling  at  very  low  prices,  and  utterly  demoral- 
izing our  trade.  We  are  just  '  stuck.'  In  twenty  years  I  never 
saw  such  a  glut.  I  should  gladly  help  you  out  if  I  could,  but 
we  can  see  no  possible  outlet." 

I  told  him  that,  of  course,  I  did  not  ask  him  to  take  any 
more  berries.  I  would  take  them  back  home  ;  but  it  would 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE.          107 

give  me  pleasure  to  show  him  what  I  could  do  in  the  berry  line* 
It  was  with  much  difficulty  that  I  at  last  induced  him  to  come 
out ;  he  was  utterly  sick  and  disgusted  with  berries.  But  he 
finally  came.  I  uncovered  them.  He  bought  them.  I  went 
home.  Before  night  of  that  same  day  he  wrote  me  to  bring 
him  four  bushels  more  of  these  berries,  offering  an  advance  of 
25  cts.  a  bushel,  and  $1  if  his  market  should  recover  any  so 
that  he  possibly  could.  But  our  home  trade  wanted  them  all, 
and  I  did  not  go  to  Akron  again.  I  dislike  to  blow  my  own 
horn,  friends  ;  but  I  see  no  other  way  to  make  this  important 
point  so  plain  to  you.  The  plain  truth  is,  such  berries  will 
make  a  market  for  themselves.  People  who  wouldn't  have 
looked  at  ordinary  fruit  couldn't  pass  such  berries  without  tak- 
ing home  some  ;  and  after  they  had  one  taste  we  were  sure  of 
them  for  the  season.  Even  our  canning  berries  were  made  to 
advertise  themselves.  If  one  box  went  into  a  neighborhood, 
every  family  near  would  want  some.  For  example,  I  sold  to  a 
Mrs.  C.  a  drawer  at  4  P.  M.,  and  called  there  in  the  evening  to 
get  the  drawer  back,  and  took  orders  from  four  neighbors,  who 
were  waiting  there  to  see  me,  for  2>^  bushels.  Good  fresh  ber- 
ries that  there  would  be  no  waste  to,  and  good  measure  did  the 
business.  We  put  about  18  quarts  in  every  drawer,  41  pounds 
on  the  scales  ;  and  if  that  didn't  seem  to  fill  the  drawer  very 
full,  we  put  on  a  few  more. 

Now,  while  there  are  plenty  of  people  able  and  willing  to 
pay  for  our  best  selected  berries  what  such  an  article  deserves, 
it  was  with  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  that  we  sold  many  bushels 
of  good  berries,  but  not  the  very  largest,  at  prices  that  any  one 
could  afford.  Many  families  who  could  not  afford  15 -cent  ber- 
ries bought  half  a  bushel  of  6 -cent  ones,  and  ate  them  freely, 
and  canned  the  surplus.  We  sold  a  good  many  berries  at  $2  in 
this  way  that  we  might  have  got  a  little  more  out  of,  and  we 
were  real  sorry  that  we  did  not  have  enough  to  go  around  even 
then.  We  had  to  refuse  many  of  our  friends. 

I  have  now  told  you  of  the  yield  and  the  income  therefrom. 


108          A  B  C   OK   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

May  I  ttll  j  ou  what  was  done  with  the  money  ?  I  have  one 
son  and  two  daughters,  and  we  all  worked  hard  during  the  ber- 
ry season,  I  tell  you,  and  my  wife  also  had  to  keep  a  boarding- 
house  for  the  time  being.  Well,  when  we  got  through  I  just 
handed  them  850  apiece  to  do  what  they  please  with.  Certain- 
ly I  can  afford  them  the  returns  from  a  paltry  half -acre  of  land. 
My  wife  and  I  are  partners,  and  I  do  not  believe  in  her  earning 
money  separately  ;  but  I  had  heard  some  hints  of  a  certain  new 
dress  wanted,  and  thought  it  a  pretty  good  time  to  put  some 
bills  in  her  private  pocket  book.  She  doesn't  take  enough 
when  I  leave  her  to  help  herself.  The  $37  left  will  more  than 
pay  all  money  I  am  out  for  extra  help  ;  and  the  fun  of  succeed- 
ing, and  all  the  berries  we  could  eat,  are  pay  enough  for  me 

Let  me  tell  you  how  we  managed  so  as  not  to  have  tl;e 
farm  work  suffer.  I  hired  two  good  extra  men,  and  then  my 
son  and  two  men  took  care  of  the  crops  and  farm  work,  while 
I,  with  the  rest,  handled  the  berries.  Our  largest  picking  in  a 
day  was  about  13  bushels,  which  sold  for  $36.55.  It  rcquiied 
from  four  to  six  good  pickers  to  keep  right  up.  I  did  the  mar- 
keting, and  looked  over  every  drawer,  and  knew  they  wt  re 
right. 

In  regard  to  the  yield  of  different  varieties  :  The  patch  we 
have  set  out  this  year,  which  I  have  told  you  about,  has  just 
about  the  right  kinds  in  the  right  proportion.  I  must  change 
my  mind  a  little.  I  told  you  that,  when  I  found  out  the  two  or 
three  kinds  that  did  best  for  us,  I  should  not  grow  so  many  va- 
rieties. I  believe  I  was  wrong  for  our  fancy  trade.  People  like 
a  change.  When  they  tire  of  a  sweet  berry,  one  with  a  little 
more  acid  will  fill  the  bill.  Then  they  want  something  beauti- 
ful to  look  at  now  and  then.  By  a  little  careful  changing  we 
can  hold  our  customers  to  the  end,  constantly  giving  them  new 
surprises.  The  two  rows  in  the  foreground  of  the  picture  (fee 
page  81 )  of  our  patch  for  this  year  are  Haverlands.  Doubtless 
they  are  the  greatest  yielders,  and  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
berries  to  look  at  that  I  ever  saw.  There  is  one-sixteenth  of  an 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.          109 

acre  in  those  two  rows.  We  usually  picked  two  bushels  a  day 
from  them,  and  practically  all  first  class  $3  20  berries  By  the 
wiy,  I  should'have  said  that  the  drawer  of  Htvtrlands  that  had 
its  picture  taken  was  just  as  they  grew — no  sorting.  Now,  this 
I  know :  that  that  sixteenth  of  an  acre  brought  us  at  the  rate 
of  over  $1000  per  acre.  The  berries  just  lay  in  piles  all  ovtr 
the  ground,  and  visitors  said  they  never  saw  such  a  sight.  I 
took  a  sample  to  an  old  dealer  in  the  city,  and  he  said,  "  You 
may  talk  quality  to  people  to  the  end  of  the  world,  and 
every  mother's  son  and  daughter  of  them  will  buy  that  which 
pleases  their  eye.  That  berry  is  beautiful,  and  it  will  sell 
high."  He  is  abou".  right.  The  Hiverland  is  a  little  weak  in 
flavor,  and  rather  soft  with  us  ;  but  it  is  beautiful,  and  enor- 
mously productive. 

The  Bubachs  were  very  large — ten  or  twenty  per  cent  larger 
than  the  S.erlings  shown  in  the  picture,  at  first ;  but  the  yield 
was  quite  moderate.  The  Sterling  was  grand,  as  usual,  holding 
out  to  the  very  last,  not  in  size,  but  in  quantity.  I  think  this 
berry  has  nearer  the  wild-strawberry  flavor  than  any  other  I 
know  of.  The  Jessie,  on  our  soil,  is  the  poorest  )  ielder  of  all. 
The  Cumberland  did  only  moderately  well,  and  the  Downing 
also.  In  fact,  all  our  perfect-flowering  varieties  were  away  be- 
hind in  yield.  The  imperfect  ones  brought  in  the  bulk  of  the 
dollars.  Do  not  grow  perfect  berries  for  market,  except  what 
may  be  necessary  for  fertilizing.  Wouldn't  I  except  the  Gandy, 
which  brought  me  such  magnificent  berries?  No,  except  that 
you  might  grow  a  few  to  make  a  change  for  your  customers. 
They  are  small  yielders.  The  first  picking  was  grand  ;  the 
second,  fair;  the  third,  hardly  ordinary.  As  to  lateness,  it 
will  not  prolong  the  season  at  all  It  is  eight  days  or  so  later 
in  ripening  its  first  Serries  ;  but  the  last  picking  of  Haverlands 
and  Gandies  was  on  the  same  day,  and  the  former  are  the  larg- 
er. It  has  a  peculiar  flavor,  something  like  pineapple,  which 
I  should  soon  tire  of,  but  some  people  were  delighted  with  it. 
It  is  also  a  wonderful  keeper.  Ripe  berries  will  keep  perfectly 


110          ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

in  our  cellar  for  two  days.  I  should  not  be  afraid  to  pick  them 
Saturday  night,  for  sale  Monday  morning  early. 

Now,  do  you  want  to  know  what  berries,  of  all  tested  this 
year,  I  would  grow  for  my  own  eating?  (We  tested  several 
varieties  not  mentioned).  By  all  means  the  Downing  and  Ster- 
ling, with  perhaps  a  few  Summits  to  surprise  our  friends  with. 
These  would  fill  the  bill  with  us  for  family  use.  The  Downing 
is  just  deliciousness  itself,  and  the  Sterling  more  tart  and  ex- 
cellent— in  fact,  the  best  I  have,  to  can. 

I  am  more  than  ever  convinced  that  the  very  heavy  manur- 
ing practiced  by  some  is  all  unnecessary  on  good  soil  where 
clover  is  grown  in  rotation  and  the  best  of  tillage  is  given  ; 
also  that  fresh  manure  plowed  under  is  better  than  rotten  ma- 
nure harrowed  in  on  the  surface.  The  latter  will  be  more  like- 
ly to  grow  an  excess  of  vines,  on  my  soil,  with  small  fruit-yield  ; 
and  the  former,  moderate  vines  and  abundant  fruit. 

In  our  strawberry-harrow  we  used,  this  year,  teeth  sharp- 
ened flat,  like  a  chisel,  at  the  bottom,  instead  of  round-pointed, 
putting  the  beveled  side  back.  They  take  hold  and  work  bet- 
ter. See  cut,  p.  66. 

We  found  the  width  of  our  rows  all  right  except  with  the 
Haverlands.  They  throw  out  their  fruit- stems  over  on  the 
straw  iu  the  paths  so  far  that  it  would  have  been  better  to  have 
the  rows  fiv^  feet  apart,  giving  the  additional  foot  to  the 
path.  The  photograph  of  our  bearing  bed  was  taken  a  few 
days  before  picking  time  ;  that  of  our  newly  set  bed  July  3, 
just  as  we  had  let  the  runners  begin  to  grow.  A  few  had  taken 
root.  Our  boys  had  ust  finished  tearing  up  the  soil  with  the 
cultivator,  roughly,  after  a  heavy  rain  had  packed  it  down,  and 
were  about  to  hitch  on  to  the  strawberry-harrow,  to  stir  the 
light-colored  strip  of  soil  you  see  under  the  leaves  of  the  plants, 
as  well  as  fine  what  the  cultivator  had  left  so  rough.  I  tell  you, 
this  harrow  leaves  little  for  the  hoe. 

Our  plan  of  mulching,  which  was  something  of  an  experi- 
ment, we  consider  now  quite  perfect,  and  shall  do  exactly  the 


112          ABC  OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

same  another  year.  Our  berries  were  perfectly  clean.  The  lor  g 
straw  which  you  can  see  in  the  paths  (see  p.  81)  made  a  nice 
carpet  for  the  pickers  to  kneel  on,  and  protected  the  fruit  on 
the  outside,  the  cut  straw  doing  the  same  in  the  beds.  Many 
customers  said  to  us,  in  substance  :  "  We  never  used  strawbei- 
ries  before  without  washing  them  ;  but  it  is  labor  thrown  away 
on  yours." 

Since  I  wrote  the  above,  the  Ohio  Farmer  for  July  5  has 
come.  In  it  Dr.  Chamberlain,  now  president  of  the  Iowa  Ag- 
ricultural College,  says,  in  speaking  of  our  berries  : 

"I  did  not  see  his  (Terry's)  farm  this  year  in  hurriedly 
passing  through  Hudson,  but  I  saw  some  of  the  fruits  of  it. 
Passing  a  grocery  I  saw  finer  stands  of  strawberries  than  I  ever 
saw  in  New  York,  Chicago,  Philadelphia,  or  Washington  mar- 
kets. It  was  nearly  nine  o'clock  at  night,  and  they  had  just 
been  brought  in  for  next  morning's  sales.  Having  a  curiosity 
to  test  them  I  said  to  the  grocer,  '  Put  me  up  a  quart,  and  count 
them  as  you  put  them  in.'  He  heaped  the  measure  to  its  ut- 
most capacity,  and  there  were  just  twenty  eight  strawberries." 

Some  quarts,  the  grocer  told  the  writer,  counted  out  but 
twenty-two  berries,  earlier  in  the  season.  It  was  a  little  late 
when  Dr.  C.  saw  them.  He  continues  : 

"  I  took  them  in  the  next  door,  ordered  a  dish  of  ice-cream 
and  a  large  extra  saucer,  hulled  the  twenty-eight  strawberries, 
stirred  the  ica-creara  until  it  mellowed  down,  poured  it  over 
them,  and  for  one  of  the  first  times  in  my  life  I  realized  what 
perfection  in  strawberries  means.  The  whole  country  smihd 
last  year  when  Mr.  Terry  told  of  eating  a  quart  of  strawberries 
at  a  meal  for  each  member  of  the  family.  Shall  I  confess,  with 
shame  and  confusion  of  face,  that  I  performed  the  same  amrz- 
ing  feat,  and  felt  the  better  for  it  ?  " 

I  put  this  kind  notice  in  along  with  the  photos  and  my  re- 
port, hoping  that  all  these  things  together  may  make  it  plain 
to  you  that  strawberries  can  be  grown  finer  and  larger  than 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE.          113 

many  city  people  ever  saw.     I   have  told  you  how  ready  they 
are  to  pay  for  such,  and  just  how  to  grow  them. 

In  one  corner  of  the  picture  of  our  new  strawberry-bed  you 
can  catch  a  glimpse  of  our  small-fruit  garden,  containing  100 
rods  of  land.  I  wish  you  could  see  how  the  bushes  are  loaded. 
We  are  hardly  through  with  the  strawberries  yet,  and  still  there 
are  black  raspberries,  and  red  ones,  almost  as  large  as  strawber- 
ries, waiting  to  be  picked,  bushels  and  bushels  of  them  ;  and 
such  a  show  of  blackberries  I  never  saw.  As  a  visitor  to-day 
remarked  :  "  They  fairly  touch  each  other  all  over,  a  hedge  of 
berries."  (The  rows  were  cut  back  last  spring,  much  like  a 
hedge.)  These  bushes,  grapevines,  etc.,  have  been  growing 
only  two  seasons,  and  we  had  probably  ten  bushels  of  berries 
last  year. 

After  you  have  mastered  the  strawberry  business,  push 
ahead  until  you  get  all  the  other  choice  small  fruits.  Severa 
farmers  have  been  here  (two  to-day)  to  see  about  getting  plants. 
Our  little  success  has  roused  them  up,  and  quite  a  revival  in 
strawberry-growing  will  take  place  around  here.  Would  that 
the  same  may  be  true  in  every  locality  that  this  little  book 
reaches,  that  the  people  in  the  towns  may  be  able  to  buy  choice 
fresh  berries  in  abundance,  and  particularly  that  the  farmers 
may  have  such,  as  free  as  water,  for  three  weeks  every  season  ! 
I  have  been  around  to-day  gathering  up  my  strawberry-drawers 
(this  chapter  is  being  written  piecemeal,  as  I  can  get  a  few 
minutes  to  spare),  and  I  just  wish  those  who  talk  about  there 
being  no  market  for  berries  could  have  been  with  me.  At  every 
place  it  was,  "  Mr.  Terry,  can't  you  bring  me  a  bushel  of  nice 
large  black  raspberries  to  can?"  or,  "Half  a  bushel  of  those 
beautiful  Cuthberts  (red);  "  or,  "Don't  you  forget,  now,  I  wan 
a  bushel  of  those  splendid  blackberries."  Why,  friends,  it  just 
makes  me  want  to  keep  out  of  sight,  I  so  dislike  to  say  to  these 
good  people  that  we  can  not  begin  to  supply  them. 

This  afternoon  a  well-known  clergyman  from  Pittsburg  call- 
ed here.  I  should  say  he  was  60  years  old.  He  went  all 

8 


114          ABC  OF  STRAWBERRY   CUI/TURE. 

through  my  fruit-garden,  and  satisfied  himself  with  the  great 
beautiful  berries.  I  showed  him  the  photographs  of  strawber- 
ries that  you  will  see  in  this  book.  At  last  he  said  to  me  : 
11  Friend  Terry,  I  am  quite  disgusted  with  myself." 

"  What  do  you  mean?  "  I  answered. 

"Why,  I  have  half  wasted  my  life  so  far." 

I  couldn't  think  what  he  was  driving  at,  and  asked  for 
further  information. 

"Why,"  he  said,  "  I  have  land  enough,  and  have  only  my- 
self to  blame  because  I  have  not  lived  like  a  prince,  as  you  are 
living,  all  these  many  years.  To  be  sure,  we  have  bought  some 
market  berries.  But  this  feasting  of  the  eyes  and  body  on  such 
luscious  fruit,  month  after  month,  is  something  we  know  no 
more  about  than  that  horse  of  yours  does."  (The  horse  was 
drawing  the  harrow  through  the  strawberries. )  I  think  my 
friend  will  not  neglect  any  longer  these  healthful  and  beautiful 
luxuries  that  God  gives  in  such  abundance  and  magnificence  to 
those  who  will  work  for  them.  Reader,  have  you  any  cause  to 
be  "  disgusted  "  with  yourself  for  the  same  reason?  I  hope 
not ;  but  if  you  have,  there  is  just  one  noble  way  out  of  the 
difficulty — "  Bring  forth  fruits  meet  for  repentance." 


ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  115 


STRAWBERRY  CULTURE. 

BY  THE  PUBLISHER. 

Of  course,  I  have  been  for  many  years  interested  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  strawberry,  or  I  should  not  have  been  so 
anxious  to  have  friend  Terry  write  this  little  book  for  me.  Be- 
fore, however,  I  undertake  to  tell  you  any  thing  about  my  ex- 
perience and  my  ideas  in  regard  to  strawberries,  I  wish  to  tell 
you  of  a  visit  I  paid  to  friend  Terry  while  his  berries  were  right 
in  the  height  of  the  season.  As  the  following  sketch  was  taken 
mainly  from  Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture,  our  readers  will  please 
bear  in  mind  that  it  was  written  with  the  supposition  that  the 
reader  was  conversant  with  former  numbers  of  Gleanings : 

When  the  first  chapters  of  the  strawberry-book  came  we 
were  so  full  of  business  I  did  not  pay  very  much  attention  to 
them.  I  knew  that,  when  the  printers  got  ready  to  take  hold 
of  them,  I  should  have  to  read  them  any  way.  In  fact,  I  have 
become  so  tired  of  reading  letters  and  following  out  the  differ- 
ent lines  of  business  through  the  letters,  that  I  do  not  know 
but  I  have  lost  energy  somewhat.  Before  I  got  through  with 
the  strawberry-book,  however,  it  all  came  back.  Why,  in  the 
concluding  chapters  I  could  hardly  sit  still.  I  looked  at  my 
plants  out  in  the  plant-garden,  and  I  looked  at  the  ground  on 
the  hill  by  the  windmill  where  I  am  preparing  to  plant  berries, 
and  I  could  hardly  contain  myself.  Before  I  got  many  pages 
further,  I  got  into  a  fever  to  visit  friend  Terry.  But  there  were 
the  letters  piled  up,  many  of  them  grievous  complaints  because 
the  writers  had  not  got  their  goods.  I  could  not  be  spared  one 
whole  day,  that  is,  in  the  month  of  June,  and  I  did  not  feel  as 
if  it  would  be  right  for  me  to  desert  my  post  so  long.  I  did, 
however,  write  to  friend  Terry  that  I  wanted  the  privilege  of 
dropping  in  upon  them  some  night  between  nine  and  ten 
o'clock  ;  and  I  wished  them,  also,  to  let  me  go  back  about  sev- 


116          ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY    CULTURE. 

en  or  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning.  I  bade  him  tell  his  good 
wife  that  all  the  preparation  she  need  make  for  my  entertain- 
ment was  plenty  of  bread  and  butter  for  breakfast.  With  the 
berries  I  could  help  myself  to,  I  should  be  quite  satisfied  and 
happy.  Then  I  counted  the  hours  until  a  reply  should  come. 
A  reply  did  come — not  in  answer  to  my  letter,  however,  for  it 
was  written  before  my  note  had  been  received.  Here  is  a  part 
of  friend  Terry's  letter  : 

Friend  Root  :— Our  patch  is  a  grand  success,  bringing  us  about  {15.00 
a  day.   We  get  our  price,  without  a  bit  of  trouble,  in  spite  of  great  competi- 
tion.    Plenty  of  room  up  above.  T.  B.  TERRY. 
Hudson,  O.,  June  18,  1890. 

I  received  it  just  before  noon.  Friend  Terry  lives  about  25 
miles  from  us;  and  a  little  before  four  o'clock  one  of  our  Clydes- 
dale horses  was  standing  before  the  office,  waiting  for  me  to 
get  the  letters  looked  after  so  I  could  be  spared  until  the  next 
day  at  noon.  My  wife  admonished  me  that  the  barometer  was 
falling,  at  a  pretty  good  jog.  But  the  strawberry  fever  was  too 
strong  to  be  allayed  by  a  summer  shower,  so  off  we  started. 
My  teamster  has  always  been  rather  skeptical  in  regard  to  Mr. 
Terry's  farming  ;  and  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  a  great  many  farm- 
ers and  teamsters  throughout  our  land  are  somewhat  the  same 
way,  and  yet  I  do  not  believe  that  they  could  give  any  good 
reason  for  it  if  they  were  to  try.  I  rather  enjoyed  his  proposal 
to  go  along  with  me  to  take  care  of  the  horse.  Mrs.  Root  said, 
before  I  went  away,  something  like  this  :  "Now,  husband,  re- 
member that  Mr.  Terry's  folks  are  in  the  midst  of  farming,  be- 
sides taking  care  of  their  berry  crop,  and  very  likely  Mrs.  Ter- 
ry is  burdened.  Stop  somewhere  and  get  your  suppers,  and 
feed  the  horse,  so  that  you  may  make  them  as  little  trouble  as 
possible." 

We  came  into  the  pretty  town  of  West  Richfield  just  about 
six  o'clock.  Did  I  ever  tell  you  that  I  have  a  special  liking  for 
hotel-keepers  ?  Well,  I  have.  I  like  every  thing  about  a  hotel 
— especially  the  country  hotel.  I  like  the  landlord  and  the 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  117 

landlady  ;  I  like  the  girls  who  wait  on  the  table  (as  you  may 
renumber);  I  like  the  boy  who  tends  to  the  horses  in  the  stable; 
yes,  and  I  like  pretty  well  the  folks  who  lounge  around  the 
door  and  bar.*  I  should  like  them  better,  however,  if  they 
were  busy  in  something  good — in  the  line  of  our  text,f  for  in- 
stance. These  country  hotels  are  homes  for  homeless  people  ; 
and  I  always  enjoy  seeing  how  well  they  carry  out  this  idea. 

"  My  good  friend,  we  want  some  supper  just  as  soon  as  our 
horse  can  eat  his  feed.  We  have  quite  a  piece  to  drive  yet,  and 
we  wish  to  get  there  before  the  people  have  gone  to  bed." 

I  was  pleased  to  see  how  quickly  he  moved  to  the  kitchen 
to  tell  the  women-folks  to  start  it  going.  Then  he  directed  in 
regard  to  the  care  of  the  horse,  and  stepped  briskly  to  the 
meat-shop  ;  and  almost  before  the  kitchen  door  was  shut  we 
heard  them  pounding  steak.  Before  I  had  time  to  become  im- 
patient or  nervous,  we  were  called  to  partake  of  the  nice  steak 
and  potatoes,  with  a  couple  of  fried  eggs,  nice  sweet  butter, 
good  bread,  and  a  good  saucer  of  strawberries.  If  you  want  to 
see  me  have  a  good  appetite,  just  let  me  ride  twenty  miles 
across  the  country.  For  serving  us  thus  handsomely,  the 
whole  charge  was  only  25  cents  apiece.  The  horse  counted 
the  same  as  a  man.  Now,  when  I  get  promptly  served,  and  yet 
on  such  short  notice,  and  at  so  small  a  price,  do  you  wonder 
that  I  thank  God  for  hotels,  and  that  I  feel  kindly  toward  hotel- 
keepers  ? 

Just  a  little  before  nine  o'clock  I  had  the  pleasure  of  telling 
my  companion,  Mr.  W.,  that  this  was  friend  Terry's  home.  I 
watched  him  as  he  looked  at  the  bright  pretty  barn  and  tool- 

*  When  I  use  the  term  "  bar  "  I  do  not  mean  a  place  where  drinks  are 
sold,  as  used  to  be  the  custom  forty  years  ago.  A  good  many  of  our  coun- 
try hotels  here  in  Ohio  do  not  sell  any  thing  at  the  bar — not  even  cigars  or 
tobacco.  Perhaps  the  term  "  bar  "  had  better  be  changed  for  "office." 
I  wonder  how  it  is  with  you,  friends.  Do  the  hotels  in  your  small  towns 
nowadays  sell  drinks  of  any  kind? 

t The  text  alluded  to  is,  "I/ay  up  for  yourself  treasures  in  heaven, 
where  neither  moth  nor  rust  doth  corrupt,  and  where  thieves  do  not  break 
through  nor  steal." 


118          ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

house  in  the  dim  moonlight.     Friend  Terry  was  off  to  Hudson, 
with  berries;  but  his  son  and  a  hired  man  welcomed  us. 

"  You  said  you  would  be  here  between  nine  and  ten  ;  but 
you  are  a  little  ahead  of  time,  are  you  not?"  said  the  young 
man. 

I  always  like  to  be  ahead  of  time.  It  is  a  grand  idea,  in  busi- 
ness, boys,  to  make  your  promises,  even  in  traveling,  so  that 
you  are  on  hand  a  little  sooner  than  you  agreed  to  be.  You  try 
it  awhile,  and  see  if  you  don't  find  I  am  right.  We  were  warm- 
ly welcomed  by  all  the  family,  even  if  we  did  come  three  or 
four  days  before  we  were  expected.  Friend  T.  soon  returned, 
then  got  a  lantern,  and  we  went  to  see  those  wonderful  straw- 
berries. The  first  glimpse  I  ever  had  of  the  Grand  Rapids  let- 
tuce was  by  the  light  of  a  lantern.  I  shall  never  forget  it.  By 
the  way,  there  is  something  wonderfully  fascinating  to  me  in 
going  about  among  the  plants  after  dark.  How  cool  and  beau- 
tiful the  ground  looked  in  friend  Terry's  new  plantation  of 
strawberries  !  (See  cut  on  p.  81.)  The  beautiful,  thrifty  little 
plants,  each  one  as  much  like  its  neighbor  as  two  peas  can  be 
alike,  at  exact  distances  (rows  four  feet  apart,  plants  two  feet 
apart  in  the  rows),  with  all  the  intervening  ground  in  process 
of  being  raked  until  nothing  could  live  except  the  strawberries 
— why,  I  fairly  ached  to  get  hold  of  a  fine-tooth  steel  rake,  just 
to  stir  the  beautiful,  fine,  soft  rich  loam.  If  there  were  any 
weeds,  they  had  not  come  to  the  surface  of  the  soil.  In  fact, 
weeds  never  get  so  as  to  be  visible  on  the  Terry  plantation. 
Then  we  went  with  the  lantern  over  to  that  half-acre  in  full 
bearing.  (See  p.  81.)  But  no  photograph  can  begin  to  do  jus- 
tice to  the  sight  we  beheld.  The  varieties  of  strawberries  are 
selected  so  as  to  have  no  rusty  leaves.  .  Every  leaf  is  thrifty, 
perfect,  and  has  that  bright  new  look  that  indicates  a  rank  lux- 
uriant growth.  The  whole  ground  between  the  plants  is  car- 
peted with  cut  straw,  so  not  a  berry  can  find  any  thing  gritty 
or  that  will  soil  it  in  the  least.  Strawberries  growing  and  rip- 
ening on  the  "straw"!  and,  oh  what  clusters  of  them!  It 


ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE.          119 

seemed  as  if  there  were  hardly  room  enough  for  them  to  ripen 
without  lying  piled  up  on  each  other.  Paths  were  provided  for 
the  pickers,  a  foot  wide  ;  but  these  paths  were  also  filled  with 
straw.  The  Sterling,  Cumberland,  Gandy,  Downing,  and  Bu- 
bach,  kept  their  berries  out  of  the  path  ;  but  the  wonderfully 
productive  Haverland  could  not  be  satisfied  with  piling  the 
berries  up  in  the  row,  but  it  just  kept  pushing  its  great  long 
stalks  full  of  fruit  clear  out  into  the  path  ;  and  it  was  very  dif- 
ficult indeed  to  walk  in  the  paths  without  stepping  on  these 
great  beautiful  handsome  berries.  Did  anybody  ever  see  such 
a  plant  as  the  Haverland  ?  One  reason  for  wanting  to  visit 
friend  Terry  was,  that  I  wished  to  see  whether  his  Haverlands 
were  really  lying  in  heaps  around  the  plants,  as  ours  were. 
They  were  doing  that  very  thing.  Friend  T.  is  not  excitable. 
I  never  saw  him  get  very  much  excited  about  any  thing.  He 
is  cool  and  quiet  in  almost  all  emergencies.  He  does  not  sail 
his  hat  nor  get  as  enthusiastic  as  I  do  ;  but  for  all  that  he  en- 
joys nature's  gifts  fully  as  much  as  the  rest  of  us,  if  I  am  cor- 
rect. Now,  the  catalogs  have  been  severely  censured  for  being 
extravagant  in  regard  to  many  of  these  new  things  ;  but  since 
I  have  been  home  I  have  searched  all  the  catalogs  in  vain  to 
find  any  thing  that  does  half  justice  to  the  Haverland.  It  is 
true,  the  berries  are  rather  tart,  and  have  not  very  much  flavor 
compared  with  some  of  the  others  ;  neither  are  they  as  large 
as  some.  But  the  berries  are  of  good  size  ;  and  with  a  little 
sugar  they  are  almost  as  good  as  any  of  them.  And,  oh  my  ! 
what  an  abundance  !  I  have  not  any  figures  just  now  about 
the  amount  per  square  red  ;  but  you  will  find  them  in  the  book. 
It  seems  to  me  that  this  plant  is  destined  to  bring  about  a  new 
era  in  strawberry  culture.  We  have  had  them  for  two  years. 
The  first  year  we  kept  our  priginal  plants  so  busy  furnishing 
runners,  that  we  did  not  get  very  much  fruit.  During  the  last 
spring  I  let  the  old  plants  go,  and  they  were  pretty  well  cover- 
ed with  grass  and  weeds  ;  but  when  they  began  to  set  their 
fruit  I  was  almost  alarmed.  I  could  not  believe  it  possible  that 


120          ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

any  plant  could  ripen  the  quantity  of  green  berries  that  lay 
around  them  on  all  sides.  But  they  did  do  it ;  and  as  fast  as 
they  turned  red  they  increased  in  size  to  such  an  extent  that 
it  seemed  almost  like  popping  corn. 

The  lantern  was  put  away,  and  we  went  to  bed.  I  obtained 
permission  to  get  up  at  daybreak,  and  I  proposed  not  to  disturb 
anybody  else.  The  barometer's  prediction  troubled  me  a  little, 
and  so  I  was  not  surprised  to  hear  the  patter  of  the  raindrops  a 
little  before  daylight.  The  rain  let  up,  however,  a  little  after 
daylight,  and,  oh  what  a  beautiful  sight  met  my  view  !  One  of 
friend  Terry's  hobbies  is  keeping  things  painted.  The  barn  and 
tool-house  and  covered  barnj^ard  had  just  been  treated  to  a  coat 
of  bright  new  paint.  By  the  way,  this  covered  barnyard  has 
just  been  enlarged  to  about  twice  its  former  capacity.  But  I 
tell  you,  it  is  handy,  especially  where  one  has  as  many  tools 
as  friend  Terry  and  I  have.  Friend  T.  has  a  knack  of  combin- 
ing colors,  with  a  small  amount  of  architectural  curves  about 
the  covered  yard,  that  makes  it  wonderfully  pleasing  to  the 
eye.  The  fence  before  the  house  was  also  neatly  painted,  and 
in  good  repair  ;  gates  all  working  nicely.  The  graveled  walk, 
the  shrubbery,  and  vines  by  t!-.e  porch,  tell  their  own  story  ; 
and  a  row  of  evergreens  on  the  right  and  on  the  left  called 
forth  exclamations  of  surprise  from  me  on  account  of  their 
regular  appearance  and  beautiful  shape.  The  house,  it  should 
be  remembered,  is  on  the  north  side  of  a  street  running  east 
and  west.  These  rows  of  evergreens,  therefore,  run  north 
and  south ;  and  there  is  another  row,  seen  in  the  strawberry 
picture,  just  across  the  back  end  of  the  dooryard,  thus  mak- 
ing an  inclosure. 

When  I  asked  him  what  he  did  to  the  evergreens  to  make 
them  so  even  and  regular,  and  of  such  bright  luxuriant  growth, 
he  replied  that  he  did  nothing  at  all.  They  are  the  ordinary 
arbor-vitse.  For  a  while  I  was  a  good  deal  puzzled  to  know 
why  they  did  not  look  as  our  evergreens  do,  and  a  good  many 
others' — one  small,  indifferent  tree,  and  then  another  large  one, 


ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  121 

and  so  on.  The  secret  of  it  is,  the  ground  was  underdrained, 
enriched  by  thorough  tilth  and  clover  before  the  trees  were  put 
out.  In  fact,  all  the  ground  around  friend  Terry's  home  has 
been  worked  up  to  a  degree  of  fertility  and  evenness  of  texture 
that  makes  all  the  plants  and  trees  just  alike.  If  the  arbor-vi- 
tse  grows  of  its  own  accord  of  the  beautiful  shape  of  those 
about  friend  Terry's  home,  I  should  never  think  of  bringing 
them  into  artificial  skape  with  shears  and  trimmers. 

Having  now  viewed  the  front,  the  reader  will  please  go 
with  me  up  the  gravel  walk.  We  will  turn  off  to  the  right, 
near  the  corner  of  the  inclosure.  Right  here  is  the  out-build- 
ing that  friend  Terry  has  several  times  described  in  our  agricul- 
tural papers.  It  is  such  a  beautiful,  secluded  spot,  overshad- 
owed by  the  evergreens  and  other  trees,  that  a  picture  is  given 
in  one  of  our  rural  papers  as  a  hint  to  farmers  in  the  way  of 
comfort  and  convenience  to  their  wives  and  grown-up  daughters, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  younger  ones.  As  we  step  through  the 
evergreens  we  come  into  the  half -acre  of  strawberries.  (See 
picture  on  p.  81.)  This  picture  was  taken  from  a  hill,  or  gen- 
tle elevation,  north  of  the  house.  Many  of  the  strawberries 
were  in  blossom  at  the  time  it  was  taken.  If  you  put  on  your 
specs  you  can  get  a  glimpse  of  the  blossoms  here  and  there. 

There  are  fourteen  rows  of  berries,  as  you  will  see  by  the 
picture.  Perhaps  an  expert  could  tell  the  varieties  by  the  fo- 
liage. Next  to  the  potato-field,  on  the  left,  there  are  three  rows 
of  some  variety,  the  name  of  which  I  can  not  now  remember  ; 
then  come  three  rows  that  I  am  pretty  sure,  by  their  looflfcin 
the  picture,  are  Sterlings.  As  the  Sterling  is  imperfect,  a  row 
of  Downings  comes  next  as  a  fertilizer.  Then  we  have  Cum- 
berland, Gandy,  Bubach,  Haverland,  Jessie,  and  perhaps  some 
others.  The  two  rows  in  the  foreground,  that  come  right  up  to 
the  foot  of  the  reader,  as  it  were,  are  the  wonderful  Haverlands 
we  have  spoken  of.  They  are  alternate,  so  as  to  have  one  row 
of  perfect  after  every  two,  or,  at  the  furthest,  three,  rows  of 
imperfect.  The  straw  mulching  is  plainly  visible  in  the  paths  ; 


122          ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

but  the  cut  straw  between  the  plants  can  not  be  seen  except  by 
moving  the  foliage  aside  ;  but  in  the  whole  patch  there  is  no 
ground  visible — nothing  that  can  soil  the  berries.  During  pick- 
ing time  the  straw  is  tramped  down  in  the  paths  much  flatter 
than  it  appears  in  the  picture  ;  and  one  of  the  worst  troubles, 
if  it  was  a  trouble,  was  the  long  stems  of  the  Haverlands  thrust- 
ing themselves  right  square  in  the  paths  in  order  to  get  sun- 
shine to  ripen.  I  believe  Mr.  Terry  proposes  to  make  the  paths, 
especially  through  the  Haverlands,  a  little  more  than  a  foot 
wide  hereafter.  Over  in  the  field  beyond  the  fence  we  saw  the 
wonderful  crops  of  wheat  —  35  or  40  bushels  to  the  acre,  right 
straight  through  the  field.  There  are  no  trees  on  Terry's  prem- 
ises, except  around  the  house.  He  does  not  tolerate  a  tree  in 
his  grain-fields  at  all. 

A  gravel  walk  led  around  to  the  front  door,  and  a  gravel 
driveway  on  the  other  side  of  the  lawn  led  around  to  the  rear 
of  the  house.  Friend  T.  has  a  gravel  bed,  or  bank,  on  his  own 
farm,  and  therefore  it  is  not  a  very  expensive  matter  to  have 
neat  gravel  walks  all  about  his  home.  The  painters  had  also 
been  at  work  about  the  house;  and  when  I  suggested  that  most 
of  us  would  think  that  it  did  not  really  need  painting,  he 
remarked  that  it  was  cheaper  to  paint  before  buildings  really 
needed  it,  in  the  common  acceptation  of  the  term  ;  and  there 
we  have  the  same  story  over  and  over  again  all  over  friend 
Terry's  premises.  Every  thing  is  done  before  it  begins  to 
suffer  from  lack  of  attention.  The  weeds  in  the  strawberry- 
beds  are  killed  before  they  get  to  the  top  of  the  ground.  His 
fourteen-acre  potato-field  is  tilled  in  the  same  way,  even  dur- 
ing this  remarkably  wet  season.  The  potatoes  stood  so  regu- 
lar through  the  field  that  one  might  think  they  were  spaced  by 
machinery,  which,  in  fact,  they  were,  by  the  machinery  of  the 
potato-planter.  Instead  of  there  being  hills  of  potatoes,  how- 
ever, there  was  a  single  stalk  standing  up  like  a  little  tree,  each 
one  just  like  its  neighbor,  as  in  the  strawberries.  This  comes 
from  the  "  single-eye  "  idea.  If  we  let  a  great  lot  of  sprouts 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.          123 

grow  in  one  hill,  it  is  like  having  eight  or  ten  stalks  of  corn  in 
a  hill — you  have  only  nubbins  instead  of  fine  large  ears.  This 
single  potato-stalk  produces  only  a  few  potatoes  ;  but  as  these 
are  not  crowded  at  all,  they  are  large,  fine-shaped  ones ;  and 
his  potatoes,  like  his  strawberries,  command  an  extra  price. 
Some  time  last  fall  I  sent  friend  Terry  an  order  for  25  bushels 
of  potatoes,  to  be  kept  for  seed.  I  was  too  late.  They  were 
sold  out,  and  I  was  astonished  to  learn  during  this  visit  that  280 
different  people  sent  money  for  potatoes,  after  the  potatoes  were 
gone.  That  is  worse  than  any  thing  we  have  done — or  better, 
whichever  you  choose  to  call  it.  The  receipts  for  strawberries 
during  the  day  I  was  there  were  something  over  $23.00. 

When  I  mention  about  friend  Terry's  farming,  many  peo- 
ple reply  at  once,  •"  Oh,  yes  !  friend  Terry  has  got  money,  and 
can  afford  to  hire  all  the  help  he  needs." 

Now,  this  is  a  sad  mistake.  One  great  feature  of  Terry's 
farming  is  to  manage  with  the  very  smallest  amount  of  help. 
If  I  am  correct,  he  has  only  one  hired  man,  aside  from  himself 
and  boy,  and  the  assistance  his  wife  and  daughters  give  in  ber- 
ry-picking. Many  people  ask,  with  wonder  expressed  in  their 
eyes,  "Why,  do  Mr.  Terry's  daughters  work  outdoors  in  the 
strawberry-beds?"  Yes,  my  friend,  they  do.  After  they  had 
finished  their  education,  they,  like  most  young  ladies,  wanted 
something  to  do.  They  might  teach  school,  clerk  in  the  store, 
or  perhaps  find  a  situation  in  an  office  in  some  of  our  large 
cities.  They  preferred  to  stay  at  home,  however,  and  work 
with  their  father,  rather  than  be  "  bossed  "  by  some  one  who  is 
not  their  father.  Do  you  blame  them  ?  Their  father  suggested 
that  they  raise  strawberries,  instead  of  teaching  school ;  and  I 
think  they  are  getting  more  money  than  most  schoolteachers. 
I  did  not  see  them  picking  strawberries  when  I  was  there,  be- 
cause it  rained.  As  they  were  living  at  home,  and  working  for 
their  father,  they  could  work  when  they  chose.  I  looked  sev- 
eral times  longingly  at  the  beautiful  large  piano  that  has  re- 
cently been  purchased,  and  which  stood  right  in  sight ;  but  so 


124          ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

many  important  matters  crowded  I  hatdly  dared  ask  them  to 
treat  us  to  some  music.  Now,  I  suppose  women-folks  should  be 
free  to  choose  an  occupation,  just  as  men  are  ;  but  if  it  were 
myself,  or  if  it  were  my  daughters  under  consideration,  I  should 
say,  "  Give  me  strawberry  culture  a  hundred  times  over,  rather 
than  schoolteaching  or  any  of  the  other  employments  open  to 
wom^n-folks."  When  I  mention  these  rural  pursuits,  and  the 
wonderful  success  some  have  met,  the  constant  objection  raised 
is,  that  the  markets  are  frequently  overstocked.  Strawberries 
a  week  ago  sold  in  our  town  at  5  cents  a  quart.  Ours,  however, 
when  freshly  picked,  at  the  same  time  brought  8  cents  readily. 

When  I  was  there,  the  Gandy  had  just  begun  to  bear. 
Friend  T.  had  taken  a  sample  to  Hudson,  and  they  brought  a 
dollar  a  peck,  without  any  trouble.  No  wonder,  for  they  look- 
ed like  luscious  peaches  or  plums,  more  than  like  strawberries. 
As  we  stood  by  the  buggy,  ready  to  bid  our  friends  adieu,  I 
ventured  the  remark,  "Friend  T.,  why  don't  you  have  14  acres 
of  strawberries  instead  of  14  acres  of  potatoes?  They  would 
not  be  very  much  more  trouble,  and  then,  think  what  a  lot  of 
money  you  would  have." 

He  shook  his  head,  and  smiled.  I  don't  remember  just 
what  he  said,  but  it  conveyed  an  idea  to  me  something  like 
this: 

"Fourteen  acres  of  strawberries  would  make  my  home  a 
thoroughfare.  Its  quiet  and  sanctity  would  be  invaded.  My 
wife  and  daughters,  instead  of  having  this  quiet  pretty  home 
all  to  themselves,  would  have  seclusion  and  peace  no  longer. 
It  is  true,  I  might  make  more  money  ;  but  I  am  not  working 
for  money.  It  is  not  the  end  and  object  I  have  in  view.  I  am 
a  farmer,  and  always  expect  to  be  one.  I  love  my  work  be- 
cause I  am  enabled  by  it  to  demonstrate  what  farmers'  homes 
may  be,  compared  with  what  many  of  them  are  at  the  present 
moment  I  want  to  see  farmers'  boys  and  girls  find  something 
to  do  at  home  on  their  farms.  I  want  them  to  love  the  farmer's 
home,  and  to  feel  proud  of  it.  I  want  them  to  find  peace,  com- 


A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  125 

fort,  contentment,  where  too  many  of  them  have  found  only 
drudgery,  privation,  and  long  hours  of  toil.  I  want  them  to 
work  at  home  on  the  farm,  and  to  learn  to  lay  up  treasures  in 
heaven,  as  well  as  treasures  on  earth  ;  and  I  want  to  show  them 
the  buried  treasures  that  lie  unused  only  a  little  way  below  the 
surface  of  the  soil — just  below  the  surface  of  so  many  farms, 
where  at  present  we  see  only  an  unsightly  and  dreary  waste  of 
weeds  and  disorder." 

Now,  my  good  friend  Terry  did  not  say  any  thing  of  the 
sort.  He  is  not  as  talkative  a  man  as  I  am,  and  he  did  not  say 
very  much  about  it,  only  that  he  did  not  want  14  acres  of 
strawberries,  with  their  attendant  care  and  bustle.  In  going 
all  over  the  premises,  all  over  his  home,  and  talking  with  his 
wife  and  children,  one  was  impressed  at  every  step  that  he  is 
not  bent  on  making  money.  It  seems,  however,  that  the  kind 
Father  has  provided  the  money.  That  little  text  that  has  been 
for  so  many  years  a  hobby  of  mine,  explains  it  all :  "Seek  ye 
first  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  his  righteousness,  and  all  these 
things  shall  be  added  unto  you."  So  long  as  friend  Terry  is 
working  with  all  his  might  and  main  to  emancipate  the  farmer 
from  the  drudgery  of  ordinaiy  farming,  God  will  see  to  it  that 
he  has  the  wherewith  to  do  his  work.  Moody  once  said  that 
he  believed  that  God  would  furnish  his  ministering  servants 
with  the  wherewith  to  carry  on  their  work.  I  said,  as  soon  as 
I  heard  it,  "I,  too,  believe  it  is  true." 

Before  I  left  I  told  my  good  friend,  that,  although  there 
were  to  be  more  chapters  to  the  strawberry-book,  he  could  have 
his  pay  for  what  he  had  done,  just  as  well  now  as  at  any  other 
time  ;  and  I  added  something  like  this  : 

"  Friend  TV,  I  have  been  having  many  heavy  cares  and 
burdens  to  bear  Curing  the  past  few  months  ;  but  I  am  glad  to 
be  able  to  say  that  lack  of  funds  has  not  been  one  of  the  bur- 
dens." 

He  replied  : 

"Thank  you,  Mr.  Root ;  but  I  do  not  need  it.     A  lack  of 


126  ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

funds  has  not  cramped  me  and  troubled  me  in  my  work  either;  " 
and  a  pleasant  look  on  his  face  impressed  me  with  the  thought 
that  a  spirit  of  thankfulness  to  the  great  Giver  above  was  in  his 
heart  as  well  as  mine,  and  gave  an  added  enjoyment  to  his 
work. 

We  bade  adieu  to  that  pleasant  home.  The  surrounding 
homes  for  quite  a  little  distance  seemed  to  have  caught  friend 
Terry's  spirit,  for  they  were  well-to-do,  progressive  farmers  ; 
but  the  potato-fields  right  over  the  fence  from  friend  Terry's 
were  as  different  from  his  as  any  thing  you  could  well  imagine. 
Notwithstanding  this,  they  were  rather  better  than  any  thing 
we  had  seen  in  our  drive  of  25  miles  across  the  country.  I 
looked  in  vain  on  this  side  of  the  road  and  that,  but  no  such 
farming  greeted  us  anywhere  as  we  saw  there.* 

We  took  a  different  route  home.  You  never  see  me  going 
the  same  road  twice,  if  I  can  avoid  it.  At  Cuyahoga  Falls  we 
called  on  the  veteran  strawberry-man,  Mr.  Matthew  Crawford. 
Friend  C.'s  whole  business  is  strawberries — not  raising  them 
for  the  market,  but  testing  the  different  varieties,  and  raising 
plants  for  sale.  I  saw  something  there  which  I  had  never  seen 
anywhere  else,  and  perhaps  I  shall  never  see  it  again — little 
beds  of  two  or  three  rows,  of  all  the  kinds  of  strawberries 
known.  In  some  places  great  luscious  berries  were  rotting  on 
the  ground.  When  I  remonstrated,  he  said  so  many  were  com- 
ing daily  to  discuss  the  different  varieties  that  he  left  a  few  so 
as  to  be  able,  during  the  season,  to  furnish  specimens  of  dead- 
ripe  fruit.  I  mentioned  ever  so  many  kinds  I  had  heard  of, 
but  I  was  promptly  led  to  the  very  variety  in  question,  where  I 
saw  it  doing  its  best.  Friend  Crawford  is  a  devoted,  faithful 
Christian.  In  fact,  it  shines  forth  in  his  face,  looks,  and  ac- 

*  Later. — Since  our  visit  I  have  received  the  following  on  a  postal,  fi  om 
friend  Terry  : 

Well,  it  dried  off  Saturday,  so  we  sold  10  bushels  of  berries,  $26  00  ;  and 
Monday  13  bushels,  $36  55.  Not  quite  so  thick  to-day,  but  we  got  a  bushel 
of  Gaudy's  Prize,  that  sold  for  $4.00.  I  had  a  photo  taken.  The  Gandy 
will  not  hold  out  long.  T.  B.  TBRRY. 

Hudson,  O.,  June  24. 


ABC  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE.          127 

tions.  As  my  paper  is  getting  long,  I  shall  be  obliged  to  pass 
over  this  visit  briefly.  As  an  illustration  of  our  talk  I  will 
give  the  following  : 

"Friend  C.,  will  you  please  show  me  the  largest  berry 
known?" 

' '  With  great  pleasure,  Mr.  Root .  But  do  you  really  think 
you  want  to  invest  in  the  largest  berry  known  ?  " 

"  Why,  surely.     If  it  is  a  good  one,  why  should  I  not?  " 

"Yes,  it  is  a  good  one — that  is,  fairly  good.  Come  and 
see." 

He  parted  the  leaves,  and  there,  to  my  great  astonishment, 
was  an  immense  fruit  that  I  should  hardly  have  called  a  straw- 
berry had  it  not  been  for  the  surroundings.  Instead  of  being 
like  other  strawberries,  it  was  much  the  shape  of  a  very  badly 
scalloped  tomato  ;  and  I  declare,  the  berries  were  pretty  close 
in  size  to  some  tomatoes.  I  picked  a  great  big  one  and  took  a 
bite.  The  quality  was  very  much  like  that  of  the  Bubach  ;  but 
there  was  not  a  single  specimen  that  was  not  knotty  and  gnar- 
ly, with  protuberances  growing  out  of  one  side  or  out  of  an- 
other. At  first  I  declared  I  would  make  a  planting  of  it ;  and 
then  it  occurred  to  me  that  everybody  would  object,  and  pre- 
fer something  a  little  smaller,  of  good  shape,  and  firm  enough 
to  ship— something  like  the  Gandy  for  instance.  If  one  want- 
ed, however,  a  great  lot  of  berries,  and  something  that  could 
be  picked  very  quickly,  I  rather  think  this  would  be  the  berry. 
My  companion  told  me  that  he  had  found  ten  of  them  that 
would  make  a  quart,  and  he  thought  it  very  likely  that  he  could 
do  it  then  and  there.  As  Its  shape  suggested  tomatoes  I  asked : 

"  Friend  C.,  why  is  it  not  probable  that  some  time  we  shall 
have  a  single  strawberry  combining  so  many  of  the  desirable 
qualities  of  others  that  only  one  variety  will  be  needed — like 
the  tomato,  for  instance?" 

"I  have  thought  of  it  a  good  deal,  Bro  Root  ;  and,  by  the 
way,  I  am  very  much  rejoiced  to  know  that  we  have  finally  one 
tomato  summing  up  all  the  good  qualities  to  such  an  extent  that 


128          A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

no  other  is  needed.  I  am  myself,  at  present,  planting  only  one 
kind  of  tomato,  and  it  seems  now  that  I  may  never  care  to 
plant  another  kind." 

I  almost  held  my  breath  as  I  asked,  "  Why,  friend  Craw- 
ford, you  astonish  me.  Will  you  please  tell  me  the  name  of 
that  one  tomato  that  you  put  in  place  of  all  the  long  string  of 
tomatoes  known  to  seedsmen  and  catalog-makers  ?  " 

What  do  you  think  he  said  ?  He  smiled  just  a  little  as  he 
replied,  "The  Ignotum." 

I  did  not  at  the  time  know  whether  he  was  aware  that  I 
first  gave  it  to  the  public,  but  he  said  he  had  heard  it  so  stated. 

"Now,  Bro.  Root,  I  have  something  to  tell  you  that  will 
greatly  please  and  interest  you.  I  do  wish  you  could  meet 
friend  lyittle  (of  Granton,  Ont.),  who  gave  us  the  great  big 
strawberry  you  hold  in  your  hand,  and  he  has  given  us  almost 
numberless  other  valuable  strawberries.  You  will  notice  that 
I  have  nur>:bered  them  in  different  places  over  my  ground — No. 
4,  No.  8,  No.  75,  etc.  Well,  friend  L,.  is  a  Canadian.  Some 
years  ago  he  was  very  low  with  consumption,  and  his  case  was 
pronounced  by  nearly  all  the  physicians  incurable.  There  was 
nothing  before  him  but  to  get  ready  to  die.  As  he  was  a  good 
man,  and  a  most  devoted  Christian,  his  friends  could  not  bear 
the  thought  of  losing  him,  and  his  children  could  hardly  give 
him  up.  A  son  of  his  was  interested  in  strawberries,  and  he 
begged  his  father  to  stay  outdoors  and  get  interested  in  berry- 
growing,  suggesting  that,  if  he  should  get  as  full  of  enthusi- 
asm as  some  of  them  did,  it  might  make  him  well."  I  began 
at  once  to  think  of  our  good  friend  Mrs.  Axtell.*  "  The  father 
very  quietly  assented,  and  placed  himself  as  pupil  under  the 
son.  In  a  little  time  he  became  deeply  interested  in  the  matter 
of  perfecting  new  varieties.  At  present  he  has  done  more  work 
of  this  kind  than  perhaps  any  other  man  in  the  world  ;  and 
this  season,"  so  our  friend  Crawford  went  on  to  say,  "  he  has  a 
whole  half-acre  covered  thickly  with  plants,  and  each  plant  is 

*See  A  B  C  of  Bee  Culture. 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY    CULTURE.          129 

a  different  seedling  from  its  neighbor.  These  are  to  be  tested, 
with  the  hope  that  they  may  furnish  the  world  something  bet- 
ter than  we  have  already."  Those  who  have  made  experiments 
in  this  line  can  conceive  how  much  of  an  undertaking  is  such 
a  project  ;  and  the  outcome  of  it  has  been  that  he  has  regained 
his  health  ;  and  although  he  is  quite  an  old  man  now,  he  will 
probably  live  some  years  yet.  So  you  see  it  is  not  only  worldly 
gifts  which  shall  be  given  to  those  who  seek  first  the  kingdom 
of  God  and  his  righteousness,  but  the  promise  seems  to  include 
health  ;  for  friend  I/,  has  found  a  new  lease  of  life  in  propa- 
gating new  and  better  varieties  of  strawberries  for  his  fellow- 
men.  I  do  not  know  whether  he  is  rich  or  not.  It  may  be 
that,  like  Terry,  he  does  not  care  to  be  rich,  but  holds  fast  to 
the  text  of  our  talk  to-day. 

lyHy  up  for  yourselves  treasures  in  heaven,  where  neither  moth  nor 
rust  doth  corrupt,  and  where  thieves  do  not  break  through  nor  steal.  — 
MATT.  6:20. 


PUTTING  OUT  STRAWBERRIES   IN   THE    SUMMER  AND 
MONTHS. 

Friend  Terry  has  told  you  all  about  spring  planting  ;  and 
he  has  alluded  to  setting  out  plants  in  the  summer,  and  espe- 
cially in  August.  I  am  very  well  aware  that,  as  ordinarily 
managed,  there  is  much  disappointment  and  failure  in  planting 
in  August.  But  as  I  have  had  several  years'  experience  in  the 
matter,  I  think  I  can  give  you  a  plan  that  will  be  successful 
with  any  one,  and  under  almost  any  conditions,  providing  you 
raise  your  own  plants  or  get  them  near  by,  so  that  they  are  out 
of  the  ground  not  much  more  than  24  hours.  I  do  not  mean 
to  say  by  this  that  you  can  not  order  plants  long  distances  in 
August  and  still  be  successful,  for  very  many  do  this  ;  but  it  re- 
quires the  skill  and  judgment  of  an  expert.  Potted  plants  are 
pretty  sure  to  work  all  right,  but  they  cost  quite  a  little  more  ; 
and  as  they  are  bulky,  the  express  charges  are  considerable  if 
you  purchase  any  number.  I  will  first  explain  to  you  the  idea 
of  potted  plants,  as  it  paves  the  way,  as  it  were,  to  my  inven- 
tion. 

9 


130          ABC  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE. 

It  may  seem  a  little  strange,  but  I  shall  have  to  confess  that 
I  had  eaten  strawberries  and   raised  them  a  good  many  years, 
before  I  was  even  aware  of  the  way  in  which  the  plant  is  prop- 
agated.    Let   us  suppose  that  you  have  a  single  strawberry- 
plant,  say  in  the  month  of  April.     You  plant  it   out  in   good 
soil,  keep  the  weeds   down,  keep   the  ground   mellow  around 
them  till  it  begins  to  put  forth  leaves  and  enlarge.     Pretty  soon 
you  will  notice  a  crown,  or  a  larger  bud,  starting  up  from   the 
center.     This  puts  forth  a  fruit-stalk  with  blossoms.     Not  long 
after  this,  most  varieties  will  send   out  an  occasional   runner. 
The  runner  looks  exactly  like  the  stem  of  a  leaf,  only  that  it  is 
much  longer  and  ends  in  a  bud,  as  it  were.     There  are  also  em- 
bryo leaflets  at  certain   distances,  making  joints,  so  to  speak. 
These  runners  grow  from  a  few  inches  to  a  few  feet  in  length. 
They  start  along  the  ground,  as  if  their  plan  and  purpose  were 
to  get  as  far  away  from  the  parent  plant  as  possible.     Finally 
the  bud  on  the  end  of  the  runner  sends  up  little  leaves  like  the 
parent  plant ;  and  from  the  under  side,  little  white  roots  go 
down  into  the  soil.     If  the  ground  is  hard  and  the  weather  dry, 
these  little  white  roots  sometimes  have  much  trouble  in  getting 
a   foothold.     Where   plants  are  wanted,  you   can   assist  them 
greatly  by  keeping  the  soil  mellow,  and   still  more  by  laying  a 
lump  of  dirt  across  the  runner,  just  back  of  the  plant.     A  lump 
of  good  old  stable  manure  is  much  better  than  a  lump  of  dirt ; 
for  when  a  warm  rain  comes,  the  strength  of  the   manure  will 
go  right   down  by  the  new  little  roots.     When   every  thing  is 
favorable  it  is  absolutely  wonderful  to  see  these  little  roots  push 
down  into  the  soil  and  get  hold   so  as  to  be  independent  of  the 
mother-plant.     Now,  if  this  little  plant  is  made  to  root  inside 
of  a  small  sized  pot,  such  as  is  used  by  florists,  we  have  a  "  pot- 
ted "  plant.     The  pot  should  be  filled  with  rich  soil  or  compost. 
Set  it  in  the  ground  right  under  the  plant ;  lay  a  little  stone, 
lump  of  dirt,  or  a  chunk  of  manure,  as  comes  handy,  on  top  of 
the  runner  ;  and  in  ten  days,  or  even  less,  the  roots  will   so  fill 
the  pot  as  to  be  just  a  solid  ball  or  mass  of  roots.     See  cut. 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 


131 


Now,  there  is  something  wonderfully  fascinating  to  me 
about  this  matter  of  plant  growth.  If  you  want  to  see  how 
fast  your  plants  are  rooting,  you  can  lift  the  pot  out  of  the  soil 
at  any  time,  even  while  attached  to  the  parent  plant  by  the 
runner.  Put  your  fingers  across  the  plant,  one  on  each  side  ; 


A   POTTED    STRAWBERRY  PI,  A  NT  AS    IT    I,OOKS  WHEN  TURNED 
OUT  OF  THE  POT. 


132          A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

carefully  turn  the  pot  over,  and  knock  with  your  trowel  oil  the 
edge,  and  out  will  come  plant,  roots,  dirt,  and  all,  just  as  it 
looks  in  the  cut.  You  can  look  at  your  plant  every  day  if  you 
wish,  and  see  when  the  first  white  roots  reach  the  outside  of 
the  pot.  Then  you  can  watch  them  night  and  morning,  and 
see  how  fast  the  little  roots  grow.  This  frequent  handling  will 
do  them  no  harm,  providing  you  do  not  let  so  much  air  get  to 
the  roots  as  to  dry  out  the  soil.  In  that  case  you  would  have 
to  water  it  frequently.  When  the  pot  is  filled  with  roots,  as  in 
the  cut,  or  even  before,  you  can  clip  off  the  runner,  and  your 
plant  is  independent.  If  you  are  in  too  much  haste,  the  infant 
plant  may  not  be  able  to  stand  the  scorching  heat  of  the  sun — 
that  is,  after  severing  the  connection  with  the  mother-plant. 
On  this  account,  pots  are  frequently  moved  to  some  shady  place 
and  watered  until  they  get  thoroughly  "  weaned,"  as  gardeners 
term  it.  They  can  then  be  put  out  in  the  field.  How  many 
such  plants  can  you  grow  from  one  old  one,  do  you  ask  ?  Well, 
there  is  hardly  a  limit.  The  variety  of  plant,  and  the  expert- 
ness  of  the  operator,  would  have  much  to  do  with  it.  I  fre- 
quently have  had  one  dozen  fine  potted  plants  growing  around 
a  single  old  one  all  at  once.  We  spread  out  the  runners  like 
the  spokes  of  a  wheel.  This  same  runner,  after  it  has  made 
one  plant,  will  start  right  out  to  make  another,  and  so  on. 
Sometimes  we  have  half  a  dozen  plants  strung  along  from  a 
single  runner  ;  and  when  you  take  up  a  potted  plant  you  can 
take  the  runner  with  the  attached  plant  beyond  it.  If  the  first 
plant  has  a  good  mass  of  roots,  like  the  one  shown  in  the  cut, 
it  will  sustain  and  keep  alive  three  or  four  beyond  it  until  they 
can  take  root  and  sustain  themselves.  Besides  this  main  run- 
ner that  goes  straight  ahead,  a  strong  vigorous  runner  will  send 
out  branches  at  the  different  joints.  These  branches,  however, 
are  small,  and  not  as  strong  as  the  main  runner  ;  but  with  very 
rich  soil,  such  as  I  am  going  to  describe,  you  can  get  splendid 
strong  stocky  plants,  even  from  these  secondary  runners,  if  it 
is  a  choice  variety  that  you  are  anxious  to  propagate. 


ABC    OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  133 

HOW   TO   GET   I^OTS  OF  STRONG,    VIGOROUS   YOUNG   PLANTS. 

We  will  suppose  you  have  some  rows  of  strawberries  from 
which  you  wish  to  get  plants.  If  they  are  planted  4  feet  apart, 
and  2  feet  from  plant  to  plant,  as  friend  Terry  directs,  you 
are  fortunate.  If  they  are  nearer  by,  it  is  not  so  well ;  but  you 
can  get  along,  even  then.  If  the  runners  have  already  com- 
menced to  take  root,  loosen  the  plants  with  a  trowel,  and  swing 
them  around  so  as  to  give  you  a  chance  to  run  the  cultivator 
between  the  rows.  Now  keep  your  horse  going  back  and  forth 
until  the  soil  is  as  fine  as  the  dust  in  the  road,  or  pretty  nearly 
that.  Now  get  some  old  fine  manure  or  compost — the  best  you 
can  get  hold  of,  and  work  it  into  the  soil.  If  you  can  afford  it, 
put  in  a  wheelbarrow  load  to  every  two  rods ;  then  cultivate 
some  more  until  it  is  all  mixed  up.  Rake  the  surface  down  flat 
and  level,  then  cover  it  with  ashes  an  inch  deep,  if  you  have 
the  ashes.  If  not,  put  in  hen  manure  pounded  up  fine  ;  manure 
from  pig  pens  ;  peat  from  the  swamps,  or  any  thing  else  that  is 
good  to  make  things  grow.  Now  bring  your  runners  back  and 
put  them  down  in  this  rich  soil,  fixing  each  one  in  its  place  as 
I  have  described.  If  you  want  to  grow  potted  plants,  put  a  pot 
under  each  runner.  Keep  out  the  weeds  and  spread  the  run- 
ners, spacing  them  judiciously  as  fast  as  they  shoot  out  and  you 
will  have  plants  to  your  heart's  content.  Fix  as  many  rows  in 
this  way  as  you  wish  plants.  If  you  have  only  a  small  bed  you 
can  do  it  in  the  garden  with  a  rake,  hoe,  and  spading  fork. 


HOW  TO   CUT  THE  TIN.  TIN    TUBE)   FOR  TRANS- 

PI,ANTING. 


134          ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

When  your  plants  are  well  rooted  in  the  ground,  instead  of  in 
the  pots,  you  are  ready  for  my  invention. 

Provide  yourself  with  several  sheets  of  extra  heavy  IX  tin, 
size  14X20  inches.  Get  a  tinsmith  to  cut  each  sheet  into  six 
pieces,  exactly  alike,  as  indicated  in  the  cut. 

Each  of  these  pieces  will  be  about  10  inches  long  by  4>£ 
wide.  Have  the  tinsmith  roll  them,  locking  the  joints  so  as  to 
make  a  tin  tube  or  cup,  without  top  or  bottom,  as  shown. 

If  you  wish  to  try  them  first,  you  can  make  only  a  dozen, 
but  for  practical  work  you  ought  to  have  a  hundred  or  more. 
Set  these  transplanting-tubes  in  a  tray,  something  like  the  one 
shown  below. 


SHAU,OW  BOX   FOR   HOLDING  TRANSPLANTING-TUBES. 

Put  about  two  boxes  of  tubes  on  a  wheelbarrow,  and  go  to 
the  patch  of  plants  we  have  been  talking  about.  Remember, 
you  can  do  your  transplanting  right  in  the  midst  of  the  most 
severe  drouth.  You  do  not  need  to  wait  for  rain  at  all.  If  the 
ground  should  be  very  hard,  however,  it  will  be  convenient  to 
have  water  near  by,  to  moisten  it,  so  the  tubes  may  be  pushed 
down  easier.  If,  however,  the  ground  where  the  plants  are 
growing  has  been  thoroughly  cultivated,  this  will  not  be  neces- 
sary. To  use  them,  gather  up  the  leaves  of  the  plant  ;  and  if 
a  runner  extends  beyond  it  that  has  not  rooted  itself  securely 
in  the  ground,  gather  this  up  also  with  the  leaves.  Push  the 
tube  over  the  leaves,  and  then  force  it  into  the  ground  so  as  to 
cut  off  all  attached  runners,  and  down  into  the  soil  perhaps 
half  its  depth.  By  tipping  and  turning  it  you  will  easily  see 
when  it  is  deep  enough  to  take  up  the  plants,  roots  and  all. 
You  should  push  down  about  half  its  depth  ;  and  if  the  plant 
is  a  good  strong  one,  you  will  see  the  roots  protrude  through 


ABC  OF  STRAWBERRY  CUI/TURE.          135 

the  soil  below  as  you  pick  it  up.  Our  boys  use  a  short  stick  to 
lay  across  the  top  of  the  tube,  so  as  not  to  hurt  their  fingers. 
As  fast  as  the  tubes  are  filled  with  plants,  set  them  back  in  the 
tray.  When  you  get  a  wheelbarrow  load,  take  them  to  the 
field,  or  where  you  wish  your  new  plantation.  Before  going 
further,  however,  I  wish  to  tell  you  how  I  fix  the  ground  for 
putting  out  these  plants. 

PREPARING  THE   GROURD   FOR  SETTING    OUT    STRAWBERRIES, 
IN  SUMMER  OR   FAI,!,. 

My  favorite  ground  for  this  purpose  is  the  piece  where  we 
took  out  our  early  potatoes.  These  come  off  by  about  the  mid- 
dle of  July.  A  month  later  we  can  have  the  piece  of  ground 
where  sweet  corn  has  been  gathered.  But  any  good  ground 
will  answer  where  some  crop  has  been  taken  off.  We  first  work 
up  the  soil  fine  and  mellow,  with  a  cultivator,  or,  better  still, 
a  cut-away  harrow.  Then  we  draw  on  stable  manure  at  the 
rate  of  forty  or  fifty  loads  per  acre.  In  fact,  we  put  on  just 
about  as  much  as  we  can  plow  under.  After  plowing  we  har- 
row again,  and  roll  until  all  lumps  are  mashed,  and  the  ground 
is  fine  and  mellow.  Then  if  we  can  we  cover  the  surface  with 
fine  old  well  rotted  manure,  put  on  with  a  manure-spreader, 
and  this  is  also  worked  in  with  a  cut-away  or  Acme  harrow. 
If  we  can  get  hold  of  a  dozen  loads  of  ashes  we  spread  them 
on  with  a  manure-spreader.  Last  of  all,  I  harrow  the  ashes  in 
likewise.  Now  roll  it,  picking  out  all  stones  larger  than  a 
hen's  egg,  in  the  act  of  rolling.  In  fact,  we  continually  pick 
up  stones  in  this  way  until  no  more  are  to  be  found  larger  than 
a  hen's  egg,  or  even  smaller  than  that.  The  ground  is  now 
ready  to  mark  out  for  strawberries.  I  would  mark  it  as  friend 
Terry  does,  with  rows  four  feet  apart.  We  use  what  is  called 
Darnell's  patent  furrower  and  marker,  for  this  purpose.  As 
you  may  not  be  familiar  with  it  we  submit  a  cut  of  the  machine 
here. 

You  will  observe  the  machine  is  kept  steady  by  a  pair  of 
iron  runners,  something  like  sled-runners.  The  metal  disks 


136          ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

must  not  be  set  so  deep  as  to  carry  too  much  of  the  weight  of 
the  machine,  or  it  will  make  it  dodge  about.  With  practice,  a 
light  mark,  or  even  a  deep  furrow,  can  be  made  absolutely 
straight,  and  exactly  the  same  distance  apart.  The  disks  being 


DARNELI/S   FURROWER  AND   MARKER. 
For  prices,  etc.,  address  H.  W.  Doughten,  Moorestown,  New  Jersey. 

adjustable  both  up  and  down,  and  at  any  angle,  you  can  make 
the  furrow  of  any  depth  you  wish.  The  machine  can  also  be 
used  as  a  coverer  for  covering  potatoes  or  similar  crops.  We 
are  now  ready  for  our  wheelbarrowful  of  plants.  Pat  the  tin 
tubes  in  the  furrow  so  as  to  bring  the  plaut  just  as  deep  as  it 
stood  originally.  If  you  are  going  to  set  toward  an  acre  or 
more,  the  same  machine  shown  here  can  be  arranged  so  as  to 
throw  the  dirt  up  around  the  tubes  very  nicely.  Now  comes 
the  problem  of  getting  the  tubes  off  quickly  and  without  dis- 
turbing the  plant.  It  cost  me  more  thought  than  any  other 
part  of  the  invention.  We  now  accomplish  it  as  follows  : 

A  boy  follows  with  a  watering-pot,  and  fills  the  unoccupied 
part  of  the  tube  with  water,  say  a  teacupful  at  each  plant. 
After  he  has  watered  perhaps  two  dozen,  another  boy  follows 
him,  and,  by  taking  hold  of  the  tin  tube,  and  shaking  it  a  little, 
plant,  dirt,  and  all,  slip  right  through.  If  you  wait  long 
enough,  the  contents  become  soft,  almost  like  mud.  Now  draw 
a  little  mellow  soil  over  the  wet  ball  of  earth,  and  there  will  be 
no  baking,  even  if  the  sun  shines  directly  on  it.  Your  young 
plant  has  also  had  water  eroiigh  to  keep  it  moist  for  several 


A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  137 

days,  if  covered  with  the  fine  rich  soil,  and  if  carefully  done 
there  need  be  no  losses  whatever.  I  asked  my  wife  to  see 
whether  she  could  find  a  missing  one  in  a  plantation  of  about 
3000  plants.  She  finally  thought  she  had  found  one  that  was 
dead.  But  I  opened  the  dead  leaves,  and  showed  her  a  green 
leaf  just  started  out.  Where  there  is  a  runner  attached  to  the 
plant,  carry  it  off  to  one  side,  but  in  a  line  with  the  row  of 
plants.  Lay  a  lump  of  dirt  on  it  and  it  will  very  soon  be  a 
good  plant  itself.  We  frequently  have  two  such  young  plants, 
one  carried  to  the  right  and  one  to  the  left ;  and  they  are  just 
about  as  sure  to  grow  as  the  mother-plant  that  was  in  the  tube. 
In  fact,  plants  taken  up  in  this  manner  will  send  out  runners 
within  three  or  four  weeks,  and  behave  themselves  very  much 
like  spring-set  plants  ;  and  you  have  had  the  use  of  the  ground 
for  a  crop  of  corn  or  potatoes.  Another  advantage  these  tubes 
give  is,  that  enough  rich  soil  or  compost  is  carried  from  your 
plant-bed  or  nursery  to  give  the  new  plant  quite  a  start.  It 
answers  every  purpose  of  potted  plants,  and  yet  you  do  it  all  at 
one  operation — that  is,  you  get  your  plants  and  set  them  out 
and  have  it  all  done  in  one  day.  We  have  never  found  any 
shading  needful,  even  during  the  hottest  summer  day.  Various 
other  plants  can  be  worked  in  much  the  same  way.  In  every 
other  respect  I  most  thoroughly  indorse  friend  Terry's  instruc- 
tions and  methods.  As  he  is  a  farmer  it  is  more  convenient  for 
him  to  enrich  his  ground  by  turning  under  clover,  and  planting 
in  the  spring,  while  we  as  market  gardeners  prefer  enriching 
our  ground  with  large  quantities  of  stable  manure,  and  putting 
our  plants  out  after  our  first  early  crops  are  off  the  ground. 

INSECT  ENEMIES  TO  THE  STRAWBERRY. 
We  have  never  yet  found  any  thing  on  our  grounds,  in  the 
line  of  insects,  injurious  to  the  strawberry  ;  and  for  this  reason 
nothing  has  been  said  in  the  book  in  regard  to  insect  enemies. 
I  am  told  that  the  white  grub  that  preys  on  the  roots  of  gra;  s 
is  sometimes  very  destructive  when  strawberries  are  put  on 
ireshly  turned  sod.  We  have  had  no  experience  v  ith  it  here. 


138  ABC  OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

The  only  objection  that  has  ever  been  made  to  the  transplant- 
ing-tubes  is  that  they  would  carry  insect  enemies  or  disease 
along  with  the  plant  to  a  new  plantation  ;  whereas  if  the  roots 
were  washed  thoroughly  from  all  adhering  soil,  as  friend  Terry 
directs,  we  should  overcome  this  danger.  Where  the  plants 
are  taken  from  poor  hard  ground,  I  have  sometimes  found  the 
ball  of  earth  an  objection  ;  but  this  could  be  broken  up  with 
the  fingers,  after  the  plants  have  got  well  started.  By  far  the 
better  way,  however,  is  to  have  your  ground  very  rich  where 
the  plants  are  grown  on  purpose  for  taking  them  to  the  field. 

DISEASES  OF  THE    STRAWBERRY. 

I  do  not  know  of  any  disease,  unless  what  is  termed  "  rust ' ' 
may  be  said  to  be  a  disease.  This  belongs  to  certain  kinds  of 
strawberries,  and  not  to  others  ;  and  sometimes  a  variety  will 
rust  in  one  soil  or  location  where  rust  is  unknown  in  another. 
I  hardly  need  tell  our  readers  that  rust  is  the  reddish  spots  that 
appear  on  the  leaves.  They  appear  like  iron  rust,  and  some- 
times they  injure  the  thriftiness  of  the  plant  very  materially. 
The  varieties  recommended  in  our  book  are  almost  rust-proof  ; 
that  is,  they  are  almost  if  not  quite  absolutely  free  from  rust  in 
most  localities.  Sometimes  during  a  severe  drouth  the  leaves 
curl  up,  something  like  the  curled  leaf  on  the  peach  ;  but  with 
plenty  of  rain  the  new  leaves  that  come  out,  and  the  new  leaves 
from  young  plants,  are  as  bright  and  straight  as  any.  L,ack  of 
water  is  generally  at  the  bottom  of  most  difficulties  with  the 
strawberry  ;  and  plenty  of  water,  accompanied  with  plenty  of 
manure,  will  usually  overcome  any  trouble  that  may  show  it- 
self. 

Perhaps  I  should  add  something  to  what  has  been  already 
said  in  regard  to  irrigation  for  strawberries.  While  I  agree 
with  friend  Terry  in  regard  to  what  he  said  about  irrigation,! 
feel  quite  sure  that  irrigation  will  many  times  pay  in  getting 
plants  to  set  out  in  the  field.  A  windmill  and  a  tank  answer 
excellently  for  this  purpose.  A  few  days  ago  a  neighbor  sold 
me  some  very  nice  blackberries.  He  said  he  was  going  home 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE  139 

to  draw  water  in  barrels  placed  on  a  wagon,  to  water  his  half- 
acre  of  blackberries.  I  asked  him  if  he  felt  satisfied  that  it 
would  pay.  He  said  he  had  practiced  it  a  good  many  years, 
and  it  had  paid  big,  and  that  he  would,  without  doubt,  lose  $50 
on  blackberries  if  he  did  not  water  them  to  prevent  them  from 
drying  up.  While  visiting  friend  Terry's  I  remembered  that 
he  had  his  blackberries  and  raspberries,  as  well  as  his  straw- 
berries, mulched  with  straw  so  as  to  cover  all  the  ground  be- 
tween the  rows  perhaps  a  foot  thick.  It  at  once  occurred  to 
me  that  straw  mulching  would  be  cheaper,  probably,  for  a 
man  who  raises  wheat,  than  to  draw  water  in  barrels.  I  wrote 
him,  making  inquiry,  and  here  is  his  reply: 

Friend  Root: — The  straw  mulching  on  raspberries  and  blackberries 
worked  to  our  perfect  satisfaction.  Every  raspberry  ripened  up  plump 
and  good,  although  it  was  so  dry  that  wild  ones  amounted  to  but  little — 
soon  dried  up.  We  had  them  in  abundance  some  days  over  three  weeks. 
The  same  is  holding  true  of  blackberries.  We  have,  been  picking  nearly 
three  weeks.  Most  of  them  are  good  size.  There  are  many  on  the  vines 
yet.  We  have  picked  nearly  a  bushel  to-day;  and  I  think  never  a  day 
since  we  began,  less  than  20  quarts.  I  never  had  such  a  feast  of  berries 
before.  There  are  no  weeds  or  grass  growing  through  the  straw.  The 
berries  are  evidently  not  feeling  the  drouth  to  amount  to  any  thing. 
From  about  35  or  40  rods  of  land  we  shall  get  raspberries  and  blackberries 
that  could  have  been  sold  for  $120.  We  have  had  to  sell  a  part,  as  we 
could  not  use  them  all.  T.  B.  TERRY. 

Hudson,  O..  Aug.  11,  1890. 

A  BOX  OF  GANDY  STRAWBERRIES. 

On  pages  57  and  58  I  have,  in  a  footnote,  alluded  to  a 
pint  box  of  Gandy  strawberries.  After  showing  this  sample 
box  to  Mrs.  Root,  I  took  them  over  to  the  factory,  and  they 
were  so  much  admired  that  I  decided  to  have  them  photo- 
graphed. Before  I  got  it  done,  however,  my  box  was  tumbled 
down,  and  the  berries  spilled  out,  in  consequence  of  assisting 
a  young  lady  to  handle  a  horse  that  had  become  frightened. 
I  picked  them  up  as  best  I  could,  but  tried  in  vain  to  replace 
them  in  the  box  with  the  freshness  and  beauty  they  exhibited 
when  I  first  laid  them  there,  as  picked  from  the  vines.  I  de- 


140          ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

cided,  however,  to  have  the  photograph,  as  it  was  toward  the 
close  of  the  season,  and  there  was  no  chance  of  getting  any 
better  before  the  book  was  put  out. 


A  PIKT  ECX  OF  GANDY  STRAWBERRIES. 


ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE  141 

A  characteristic  of  the  Gandy  strawberry  is  the  large 
bright  green  sepals  around  the  fruit-stem.  This  green  con- 
trasts so  finely  with  the  shining  scarlet  of  the  berry  that  it 
looks  like  a  beautifully  colored  picture.  These  .sepals  also, 
on  account  of  being  unusually  large,  keep  the  beiries  apart  in 
the  basket  so  as  to  give  them  air,  and  prevent  bruising.  The 
berry  at  the  corner  of  the  basket  in  the  cut  shows  particularly 
this  feature.  See  also  cut  of  Gandy  on  page  53. 

THE  VALUE  OF  STRAWBERRY  PLANTS  TURNED   UNDER. 

On  the  15th  of  July  we  plowed  under  a  bed  of  Sharpless 
strawberries  that  had  borne  an  excellent  crop  of  fruit,  and  had 
made  a  prodigious  growth  of  foliage,  runners,  etc.  Before 
turr.ing  them  under,  however,  the  ground  was  covered  with  a 
heavy  coat  of  stable  manure.  With  the  manure  and  vines  to- 
gether, the  plowman  had  considerable  trouble  in  getting  them 
all  turned  under  nicely.  In  fact,  a  man  had  to  follow  (with  a 
hoe  or  similar  tool)  to  push  the  tangled  vines  from  under  the 
plow-beam.  When  it  was  all  turned  under,  however,  it 
was  harrowed  and  rolled  until  fine  and  compact.  Then  a 
heavy  coat  of  ashes  frpm  our  steam-boiler  was  put  on.  These 
ashes  we  e  mostly  coal.  Considerable  basswood  and  pine, 
however,  goes  in  with  the  coal.  In  order  to  get  out  the 
coarser  portions  we  run  it  through  a  sieve,  or  riddle,  such  as  is 
used  for  sifting  sand  or  gravel.  These  ashes  were  put  over  the 
surface,  from  one  to  two  inches  deep,  and  harrowed  lightly 
into  the  mellow  surface  soil.  In  this  we  sowed,  the  same  day, 
radishes,  lettuce,  and  turnips.  Well,  on  the  15th  day  of  Au- 
gust, just  thirty  days  from  the  day  the  seeds  were  put  in,  beau- 
tiful radishes  were  ready  for  the  market — in  fact,  the  finest  I 
ever  saw.  A  nice  shower  fell  soon  after  the  seeds  were  sown, 
and  the  ashes  had  sufficient  strength  to  destroy  all  insect  en- 
emies. Not  even  a  flea  beetle  punctured  the  first  leaves  of  the 
young  radial  e*.  They  grew  with  a  rich  dark  green,  and  a  ra- 
pidity I  never  saw  them  grow  with  before.  Neither  have  I 
ever  had  good-sized  radishes  fit  for  market  in  just  thirty  days, 


142          ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

before.  The  varieties  were  Early  Frame,  Chartier,  and  Chi- 
nese Rose.  The  roots  were  beautiful,  glossy,  scarlet,  straight, 
and  true.  In  fact,  we  could  easily  have  made  a  bunch  of 
Chartiers  equal  to  the  colored  plates  sent  out  by  the  originator. 
The  Early  Frame  may  have  been  a  little  ahead  of  the  Chartier  ; 
but  three  days  later,  the  Chartiers  were  much  larger  and  finer. 
In  three  days  more  (thirty- three  in  all)  we  had  Early  Bloom- 
dale  turnips  fit  for  the  table.  They,  too,  were  wonderfully 
handsome,  both  radishes  and  turnips  being  crisp  and  sweet,  far 
beyond  the  ordinary.  The  Grand  Rapids  lettuce  was  also  fit  to 
put  on  the  market-wagon  in  thirty  days.  Of  course,  it  did  not 
make  large  heads  in  that  time,  but  the  leaves  were  as  large  as 
one's  hand,  and  the  plants  made  very  fine  basket  lettuce.  How 
much  of  this  is  due  to  the  strawberry-plants  and  how  much  to 
the  manure  and  how  much  to  the  ashes,  we  can  not  tell ;  but  I 
think  just  about  the  combination  was  needed  for  the  results 
noted.  Mr.  E.  C.  Green,  of  the  Ohio  Experiment  Station, 
looked  them  over  yesterday,  and  he  said  he  had  never  seen  any 
thing  to  excel  it  in  the  way  of  a  crop,  in  only  thirty  days.  It 
should  be  remembered,  that  the  ground  was  our  best  creek-bot- 
tom ground  that  had  been  enriched  and  worked  over  for  the 
past  four  or  five  years. 

Adjoining  the  above  patch  are  some  of  our  rows  of  straw- 
berries which  were  also  put  out  with  the  transplanting-tubes  on 
the  loth  of  July.  We  did  not  think  best,  however,  to  put 
strawberries  where  strawberries  had  been  the  season  before. 
These  strawberry- plants,  in  thirty  days  have  sent  out  runners 
and  made  little  plants  so  that  some  of  them  are  well  enough 
rooted  to  bear  removing  from  the  parent  plants  ;  that  is,  by  the 
aid  of  the  tubes.  Now,  these  few  results  give  one  a  glimpse  of 
what  is  possible  in  market-gardening,  as  well  as  in  strawberry- 
raising.  In  forty  days  the  radishes  can  easily  be  cleaned  off, 
and  another  crop  of  something  else  can  be  turned  off  before 
winter.  I  am  planning  to  transplant  some  of  the  Grand  Rapids 
lettuce  where  the  radishes  are  taken  off,  and  thus  get  large 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  143 

heads  before  winter.  With  this  high-pressure  treatment,  ma- 
nuring, and  tilth,  there  are  quite  a  few  crops  that  can  be  taken 
off  the  ground  in  forty  or  fifty  days.  The  energetic,  go-ahead 
gardener  should  have  them  off  promptly  the  very  day  the  crops 
have  arrived  at  their  best,  and  more  seeds  or  plants  should  take 
their  place  within  one  hour.  I  know  from  experience  that  it  is 
a  very  hard  matter  to  push  things  like  this  ;  but  I  tell  you, 
friends,  it  pays. 

On  another  piece  of  ground,  when  I  saw  the  crop  had  al- 
most reached  maturity  I  allowed  the  weeds  and  purslain  to  grow 
for  a  while.  It  did  not  take  the  weeds  more  than  a  week  or 
ten  days  to  cover  the  ground  with  a  wonderful  growth  while 
the  crop  was  ripening  ;  and  just  as  soon  as.  the  crop  was  remov- 
ed, weeds,  tops,  and  all  refuse  matter  were  plowed  under.  In 
doing  this,  you  want  to  be  careful  that  no  seeds  of  purslain  or 
of  any  thing  else  have  become  matured  enough  to  grow  ;  for  if 
you  do  you  will  seed  the  ground  with  weeds.  Keep  your  eye 
carefully  on  the  weeds,  and  a  good  many  times  you  can  have  a 
heavy  growth  to  turn  under,  almost  as  well  as  not.  Be  careful, 
also,  that  this  heavy  growth  does  not  take  away  any  thing  from 
the  maturing  crop.  A  great  many  times  it  is  better  to  wait  a 
little  until  the  crop  is  mature  enough  to  be  gathered,  rather 
than  to  undertake  to  clean  out  the  patch  from  weeds,  etc  ,  just 
before  maturity.  In  fact,  the  nicest  way  in  the  world  to  make 
sure  with  purslain  is  to  turn  it  under  out  of  sight.  Keep  the 
cultivator  going,  however,  so  that  no  chance  sprig  stuck  up 
through  the  dirt  shall  get  on  top  of  the  ground  and  grow  again. 
At  this  season  of  the  year  (Aug.  21),  if  any  piece  of  ground, 
enriched  as  we  have  ours,  is  left  idle  for  a  week  or  ten  days, 
he  weeds  will  make  their  appearance.  I  would  rather  have 
the  cultivator  go  over  the  ground,  say  once  in  five  or  six  days, 
if  we  can  manage  to  have  it.  And  this  reminds  me  t!-:at  we  are 
in  the  habit  of  using  the  Acme  cultivator  in  the  same  way  that 
friend  Terry  uses  his  harrow  arrangement  shown  on  page  66. 
We  go  through  with  the  Planet  Jr.,  just  as  he  does.  Then  in 


144          ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

two  or  three  days,  or  sometimes  right  away  after,  we  go  over  the 
ground  with  the  Acme.  This  can  be  run  close  up  to  the  leaves 
of  the  strawberry-plants  without  doing  them  injury.  It  simply 
pushes  aside  every  leaf  without  cutting  them  off,  and  it  leaves 
the  ground  very  fine  and  level. 

SELLING  PLANTS;  DIRECTIONS    FOR    SHIPPING  THEM    EITHER 

BY  MAII,  OR  EXPRESS. 

As  I  have  before  hinted,  we  do  quite  a  business  in  sending 
strawberry-plants  by  mail  and  express.  We  often  send  them 
out  in  March,  and  continue  until  June,  or  until  the  plants  are 
bearing  fruit.  When  the  season  is  favorable  we  commence 
again  in  the  middle  of  July  and  send  them  out  until  the  ground 
is  frozen — say  November  and  sometimes  into  December.  The 
plants  are  taken  up  with  a  trowel,  and  all  the  dirt  shaken  off. 
The  roots  are  then  washed  and  tied  up  in  bundles.  To  keep 
them  from  wilting,  we  use  sphagnum  moss.  This  moss  is  found 
in  the  huckleberry-swamps  of  Ohio  and  many  other  States.  It 
has  the  peculiar  property  of  never  heating,  even  when  quite 
wet.  In  fact,  its  native  place  is  a  damp  swamp,  sometimes  cov- 
ered with  water  for  quite  a  period.  Your  moss,  however,  must 
not  be  too  wet  when  put  around  the  roots  of  the  plants.  The 
best  rule  I  can  give  for  getting  it  just  right  is  to  take  a  double 
handful  of  it,  dip  it  in  water  if  not  already  wet  enough,  then 
squeeze  out  every  drop  of  water  you  can  get  out  with  your 
hands.  Now  put  it  around  the  roots,  and  tie  them  as  tight  as 
you  have  a  mind  to,  leaving  the  tops  exposed.  Before  tying 
them  up,  pull  off  all  dead  leaves  and  runners  ;  and  if  the  top 
is  very  large  and  the  root  rather  small,  pull  off  the  largest  out- 
side leaves.  Girls  or  women  will  do  this  very  rapidly  and  nice- 
ly. Now,  in  case  there  should  be  a  severe  drouth  at  the  time, 
and  the  plants  are  going  to  be  out  some  days,  the  whole  should 
be  wrapped  in  oiled  paper  or  enamel  cloth  to  prevent  evapora- 
tion. Outside  put  some  manilla  paper  on  which  the  address  is 
written  ;  but  let  the  leaves  be  partly  exposed.  In  taking  up 
your  plants  at  a  dry  time,  unless  your  soil  is  very  loose  and 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE.          145 

highly  enriched,  as  I  have  directed,  the  ground  should  be  wa- 
tered until  it  is  soft  enough  so  that  all  the  roots  can  be  preserv- 
ed. Do  not  send  anybody  plants  with  mutilated  roots,  caused 
by  pulling  them  hastily  out  of  the  hard  soil.  The  purchaser  is 
entitled  to  every  root  that  belongs  to  the  plant. *  On  page  21 
is  a  picture  of  a  good  plant.  This,  however,  has  been  trimmed. 
In  sending  them  out  we  do  not  trim  them.  We  leave  our  cus- 
tomer to  suit  himself  in  regard  to  trimming. 

STRAWBERRY  CUI/TURE   AS  AN  OUTDOOR   INDUSTRY  FOR  THOSE 
IN   POOR    HEAI/TH. 

On  page  128  I  have  told  of  one  who  was  restored  to  health 
when  the  doctors  could  give  him  no  help.  I  do  not  know  of 
any  other  plant  that  grows  that  ore  can  work  with,  propagate, 
and  see  grow  almost  every  month,  when  the  ground  is  not  froz- 
en, like  the  strawberry.  As  cold  weather  conies  on,  confine 
your  operations  to  a  piece  of  ground  protected  by  hills  or  build- 
ings, or  both  ;  and  if  you  still  wish  to  have  them  make  runners 
and  start  plants,  cover  your  bed,  or  a  portion  of  it,  with;  sash, 
when  the  frost  is  severe.  .Whenever  the  weather  moderates  so 
as  to  enable  you  to  move  the  sash  safely,  do  so;  and  whenever 
it  rains,  the  sash  are  better  off  than  on.  By  takirg  pains  you 
can  see  them  thrive  almost  all  the  year  round,  and  you  will 
have  your  reward  in  getting  fruit  a  month  earlier  than  those 
not  protected.  Of  course,  by  the  aid  of  artificial  heat  you  can 
make  them  bear  fruit  in  the  winter  time ;  but  this  is  a  more 
difficult  operation. 

Mr.  Terry  has  also  several  times  alluded  to  the  benefits  to 
be  derived  from  outdoor  work  in  successfully  growing  straw- 
berries. We  take  the  following  from  Vick's  Magazine,  in  re- 
gard to  gardening  for  those  in  poor  health  : 

*  See  the  following  from  one  of  our  customers  : 

The  200  Jessie  and  50  Buhach  plants  are  at  hand,  and  set  out.    They 

could  not  come  in  a  better  shape.     You  certainly  deserve  every  order  sent 

you,  if  treated  as  mine  was     All  are  living,  and   I  am   satisfied  with  your 

exertions  to  do  as  you  would  be  done  by.     Thai. ks  for  the  few  extra  ones. 

Forest  City,  Mo.,  Aug.  20.  GEO.  W.  BALDWIN. 

10 


146  ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY    CULTURE. 

11  One  will  seldom  or  never  be  disappointed  who  turns  to 
the  garden  for  recreation,  or  who  seeks  there  the  building-up  of 
over- wrought  nerves,  or  who  would  follow  out  to  discovery 
some  of  the  innumerable  secrets  of  the  vegetable  world,  that 
are  to  be  found  by  the  earnest  and  patient  observer.  It  is  the 
place  for  at  least  an  hour  or  two  every  day  for  women,  as  a 
change  from  household  duties,  or  professional  men,  editors, 
merchants,  clerks,  and  all  who  may  be  engaged  in  indoor,  and 
especially  sedentary  employments  ;  more  or  less  garden  work 
should  be  engaged  in  every  day,  and  by  every  member  of  the 
family,  whenever  it  is  possible.'" 

GETTING  A   CROP  OF    STRAWBERRIES    IN  THE   FAIJ,  ;   EVER- 
BEARING STRAWBERRIES. 

When  we  have  abundant  rains  in  August  and  September, 
especially  after  a  severe  drouth  in  July  and  the  fore  part  of 
August,  many  varieties  of  strawberries  will  put  forth  blossoms, 
and  sometimes  ripen  a  limited  quantity  of  fruit  during  the  last 
of  September  and  October.  The  Jessie  strawberry  seems  to  be 
especially  given  to  this,  and  in  almost  every  plantation  of  the 
Jessie  you  will  find  more  or  less  berries  and  green  fruit  during 
the  month  of  September.  The  Jessie  is  also  particularly  adapt- 
ed for  greenhouse  culture  or  for  getting  berries  in  the  winter 
time,  on  account  of  this  peculiarity.  A  new  berry  just  being 
introduced,  called  Michel's  Early,  also  known  in  some  locali- 
ties by  the  name  of  Osceola,  is  also  recommended  for  fruiting 
in  winter.  Our  Ohio  Experiment  Station  pronounces  it  the 
best  extra-early  berry  we  have.  Now,  my  impression  is  that 
almost  any  strawberry  may  be  made  to  give  a  small  crop  of 
fruit  in  the  fall  by  timely  irrigation.  On  Thanksgiving  day, 
1888,  I  was  entertained  by  my  good  friend  George  B.  Wood- 
berry,  of  Verdugo,  Cal.,  on  strawberries  and  cream.  The  va- 
riety was  the  Manchester.  He  had  half  an  acre  in  full  bear- 
ing, and  he  managed  it  by  the  timely  application  of  water  on 
purpose  to  have  his  berries  on  the  market  Thanksgiving  time. 


A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  147 

He  made  a  nice  thing  of  his  crop,  for  he  got  25  cts.  per  lb., 
which  is  rather  better  than  25  cts.  a  quart.  Within  a  few  years 
the  Everbearing  strawberry  has  been  introduced  from  Oregon, 
called  the  Oregon  Everbearing.  It  is  now  on  our  grounds,  and 
has  been  giving  us  some  berries  right  along,  but  not  as  many 
as  we  get  from  the  Jessie.  While  I  write,  Sept.  2,  1890,  we 
have  a  small  bed  of  Jessies  full  of  blossoms,  green  fruit,  and 
some  ripe  berries.  They  are  set  out  in  very  rich  plant-bed 
ground,  and  they  have  been  watered  whenever  they  lacked  rain, 
so  as  to  keep  the  plants  in  full  vigorous  growth.  Some  of  the 
berries  are  of  quite  good  size  ;  and  if  I  had  a  quarter  of  an 
acre  of  them  bearing  as  well,  I  could  put  quite  a  quantity  of 
berries  on  the  market.  During  this  season  of  scarce  fruit  I 
think  I  could,  without  doubt,  get  from  20  to  25  cts.  per  quart, 
at  the  present  time  ;  and  at  this  price  it  would  have  been  a 
splendid  investment.  Where  one  has  the  time,  and  will  take 
the  pains,  I  have  no  doubt  that  strawberries  can  be  very  profit- 
ably raised  for  marketing  at  county  and  State  fairs.  Some 
years  ago  in  the  city  of  Indianapolis  I  saw  very  fine  large  straw- 
berries offered  for  sale  at  40  cts.  a  quart,  in  the  month  of  Octo- 
ber. I  presume  they  were  made  to  bear  in  this  way.  I  have 
never  had  any  experience  with  the  Monthly  Alpine  strawberry ; 
but  from  what  I  have  heard  I  believe  I  should  prefer  to  use  the 
Jessie  and  Michel's  Early  for  getting  a  fall  crop. 

RAISING   STRAWBERRIES  UNDER  GI,ASS. 

This  is  carried  on  mostly  in  our  very  large  cities,  where 
berries  can  be  sold  for  about  50  cts.  to  $1.00  a  quart  during 
Christmas  time,  and  all  along  through  the  severe  winter  months. 
Any  of  you  can  do  it  if  you  are  willing  to  take  the  necessary 
pains  ;  but  it  will  not  pay  financially  unless  you  can  get  some- 
thing like  the  prices  named  above.  The  plan  is,  to  get,  by  rich 
soil  and  excellent  culture,  very  strong  heavy  crowns  ready  to 
put  out  fruit-buds.  Let  them  remain  outdoors  until  they  are 
well  ripened  and  ready  for  fruit.  They  should,  however,  be  in 


148          ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE 

pots,  so  as  to  admit  of  being  brought  readily  into  the  green- 
house. At  the  proper  time,  put  them  under  glass  and  give 
them  ati  artificial  spring  ;  and  finally,  when  the  fruit  is  ready 
to  ripen,  increase  the  heat  so  as  to  give  them  an  artificial  sum- 
mer. Large-sized  berries  will  bring,  if  grown  under  glass,  from 
10  to  25  cts.  each,  according  to  the  market. 

GETTING   RUNNERS   AND   PLANTS,   OUT  OF  SEASON. 

With  new  and  rare  varieties  of  strawberries  it  is  oftentimes 
quite  desirable  to  get  runners  not  only  in  warm  weather,  but  to 
keep  the  plant  propagating  runners  right  along  through  the 
winter  time.  As  I  have  never  succeeded  very  well  in  getting 
plants  to  send  out  runners  in  the  greenhouse,  I  wrote  to  the 
horticulturist  of  our  Ohio  Experiment  Station  in  regard  to  the 
matter.  Here  is  his  reply  : 

Mr.  Root : — In  reply  to  your  query  as  to  whether  we  had  been  able  to 
get  strawberry-plants  to  throw  out  runners  in  the  greenhouse,  I  will  say 
that  we  have,  but  not  freely.  The  fact  is,  however,  that,  if  the  plants  are 
started  in  pots  in  the  greenhouse,  and  then  put  out  of  doors  when  the 
season  is  sufficiently  advanced,  they  will  commence  very  early  to  send  out 
runners.  In  the  case  of  new  sorts  that  you  wish  to  propagate  freely,  you 
can  cut  the  tips  as  soon  as  they  form,  and  strike  them  in  pots  or  in  frames. 
This  is  better  for  the  original  plants  than  to  allow  the  runners  to  take 
root ;  besides,  you  get  more  plants.  W.  J.  GREEN. 

Columbus,  O.,  March  22,  1890. 

In  conclusion,  friend  Green  speaks  of  taking  the  little 
plants  from  the  ends  of  the  runners  before  they  have  struck 
root.  We  have  several  times  done  this,  where  it  is  desirable  to 
get  plants  as  fast  as  possible,  cutting  the  runners  off  so  as  to 
get  an  inch,  perhaps,  on  one  side  of  the  little  plant.  Then 
take  off  the  largest  leaves,  leaving  only  two,  or  three  at  the 
most.  Put  the.-e  into  very  rich  ground  containing  a  good  deal 
of  sand,  which  is  kept  constantly  wet,  much  as  you  would  for 
cuttings  Shade  it  from  the  sun  with  a  frame  covered  with 
cotton  cloth.  This  will  also  keep  the  air  moist.  If  the  tem- 
perature is  right,  and  your  soil  is  ti^ht,  the  largest  part  of  these 
cuttings,  or  embryo  plants,  will  take  root  in  about  <?  week.  If 


A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY    CULTURE.  149 

you  once  get  them  started  there  is  no  trouble.  Sometimes  we 
get  a  bed  full  of  beautiful  plants  ;  but  at  other  times  the  leaves 
decay  and  turn  dark  around  the  edges.  We  are,  however  Jdaily 
practicing  this  method  of  getting  plants.  At  the  present  time 
we  are  short  on  the  Haverland  ;  therefore  each  day,  when  we 
take  up  plants  for  shipping,  we  preserve  all  the  sets  beyond  the 
plant  that  have  not  yet  made  roots,  and  these  are  put  out  in  just 
this  way.  In  fact,  we  have  been  setting  out  more  or  less  every 
day  for  the  last  month  ;  and  the  greater  part  of  them  produce 
very  fine  plants  in  three  or  four  weeks.  Where  there  is  not 
even  a  root  started,  by  sufficient  care  we  get  a  plant ;  but  when 
there  are  little  roots,  say  ^  or  1  inch  in  length,  the  work  is 
very  much  easier. 

A   UST  OF  SOME  STRAWBERRIES,    BOTH  OI,D  AND  NEW,   THAT 
ARE   PROMINENTLY   BEFORE  THE  WORI<D. 

Just  as  our  book  was  ready  for  press  we  received  the 
"  Strawberry  "  number  of  the  Orange  Judd  Farmer.  In  it  we 
find  cuts  of  30  different  strawberries  favorably  known  ;  and 
through  the  courtesy  of  the  editors  we  make  a  selection  as 
seen  on  the  adjoining  pages.  These  cuts  do  not  by  any 
means  give  the  true  size  of  the  berries,  but  only  the  form  and 
general  appearance.  The  cuts  given  by  Terry  in  the  fore  part 
of  this  book  are  taken  from  nature,  and  are  exactly  the  size  of 
the  berries  he  grew  on  his  own  grounds. 

The  Bubach  and  Sharpless  have  been  described  already. 

Warfield  has  not  been  fruited  on  our  grounds,  but  it  is  very 
highly  spoken  of.  It  is  thought  to  be  a  seedling  of  the  Cres- 
cent, and  if,  as  claimed,  it  is  ahead  of  it,  it  surely  has  a  great 
future. 

The  Crescent,  perhaps,  is  more  widely  known  and  raised 
than  any  other  berry  in  the  world,  unless  it  is  the  Wilson.  In 
fact,  a  new  impetus  was  given  to  strawberries  with  the  advent 
of  the  Crescent  and  Wilson.  The  Crescent  has  been  called  the 
"poor  man's  berry,"  because  it  will  grow  anywhere  without 


150 


ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY    CULTURE. 


care  or  expense  ;  and  somebody  has  likened  it  to  the  Canada 
thistle  as  regards  hardihood.  It  also  produces  an  enormous 
quantity  of  fruit ;  but  unless  the  plants  are  thinned  out,  and 
the  ground  is  well  enriched,  the  berries  are  quite  likely  to  be 
small.  I  have  seen  berries  of  the  Crescent  grown  in  single 
hills,  with  runners  kept  off,  that  came  pretty  nearly  up  to  some 
of  our  large  berries  in  size. 

There  seems  to  be  a  wide  difference  of  opinion  in  regard  to 
the  Beloiont.  In  some  localities  it  does  wonders,  and  in  others 
it  does  not  bear  much  fruit.  In  .still  other  places  it  rusts  badly. 
When  we  first  tried  it  I  was  at  once  struck  with  the  beautiful 
light-green  foliage,  and  its  rank,  luxuriant  growth,  without  a 
trace  of  rust,  on  our  grounds.  When  it  came  to  bear  it  created 
much  merriment  by  its  queer  sbape — long,  and  pointed  at  both 


CUMB    TRIUMPH. 


MAY   KING. 


CAPT.  JACK. 


ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 


151 


ends — something  like  a  "  gimlet-handle."  When  the  ground 
is  very  rich,  many  berries  are  quite  irregular.  In  fact,  they 
look  like  "  chunks  of  pudding  ;  "  and  when  you  put  them  into 
your  mouth  you  find  them  equal  to  any  pudding  ever  produced 
by  the  culinary  art. 

The  Jersey  Queen  was  for  several  years  our  standard  late 
berry.  The  shape  is  beautiful,  and  the  flavor  of  the  berry  is 
equal  to  almost  any  ;  but  with  us  it  has  been  a  rather  feeble 
grower,  and  not  very  productive. 

The  Cloud  Seedling  is  a  very  pretty  berry,  and  produces 
runners  and  young  plants  to  such  an  extent  that  it  will  soon  be 


SHARPNESS. 


MAMMOTH. 


GANDY. 


152 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 


a  swamp  unless  looked  after.  It  has,  however,  been  voted  a 
failure,  at  least  through  the  Northern  States. 

The  Eureka  is  a  rank,  strong-growing  vine,  free  from  rust. 
The  berries  are  large  and  finely  shaped,  and  in  some  localities 
it  has  been  wonderfully  productive. 

The  Charles  Downing  has  been  described  already.  It  is 
equal  to  any  in  quality,  and  in  a  good  many  localities  is  very 
productive.  It  will  always  have  its  firm  adherents. 

I  hardly  need  mention  the  .Wilson.  Everybody  has  it ;  and 
a  good  many  large  berry-growers,  including  J.  M.  Smith,  of 
Green  Bay,  Wis.,  declare  that  it  will  give  the  grower  more  mon- 
ey than  any  other  berry  known.  The  Wilson  is  the  berry  that 
gave  strawberry-growing  its  great  prominence.  It  is  a  great 
bearer,  rather  tart,  and  not  very  large,  as  a  general  rule. 


BUBACH  NO.  5.* 


DAISY. 


JERSEY  QUEEN/ 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CUT/TURK. 


153 


The  cut  of  the  Gandy  shows  its  beautiful  shape,  and  the 
large  sepals. 

The  Crawford  was  originated  by  Mr.  Matthew  Crawford 
two  or  three  years  ago,  and  I  believe  it  is,  at  the  present  time, 
recommended  by  him  as  being  at  least  equal  to  any  strawberry 
in  the  world. 

The  Cumberland  Triumph,  or  simply  "  Cumberland,"  as  it 
is  usually  called,  is  perhaps  the  handsomest  berry,  when  shown 
by  the  drawerful,  of  any  berry  known,  unless  it  is  the  Gandy. 
Its  shape  is  so  perfect  that  one  might  think  the  berries  were  all 
turned  in  a  lathe  ;  and  with  good  care  the  size  is  more  even  and 
regular,  just  as  they  are  picked  from  the  vines,  than  any  others 
I  know  of.  The  picture  named  "  Cloud  Seedling,"  it  seems  to 


UDA.* 


ONTARIO. 


JEWEI,.* 


154          A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY    CULTURE 

me,  represents  the  Cumberland  very  much  better  than  the  one 
marked  "Cumberland." 

The  L,ida  is  another  new  berry  that  has  been  attracting  con- 
siderable attention.  The  plant  is  not  very  large,  and  the  leaves 
are  down  close  to  the  ground.  But  it  is  a  wonderfully  vigorous 
grower,  and  the  fruit  is  very  handsome. 

We  have  tested  the  Ontario,  but  they  are  so  much  like  the 
Sharpless  that  it  seems  to  me  it  is  hardly  worth  while  to  have 
both  of  them  under  different  .names.  Those  of  which  I  have 
made  no  mention,  I  am  not  sufficiently  acquainted  with  to  de- 
scribe. Those  having  a  star  after  the  name  are  imperfect,  or 
"  pistillate  ;  "  the  rest  are  perfect",  or  "  staminate." 

There,  just  as  I  got  my  strawberry  book  all  ended,  a  point 
not  touched  on  occurred  to  me  ;  and  I  should  not  be  surprised  if 
it  should  prove  to  be  one  of  the  most  valuable  thoughts  to  be 
found  in  the  book.  It  follows  along  in  the  line  of  the  query, 

SHAIj;   WE   I,ET   OUR   VINES   BEAR    MORE   THAN   ONE   YEAR? 

This  matter  has  already  been  discussed  on  page  98,  and 
Terry  strongly  advises  plowing  them  under  after  they  have 
borne  one  crop  ;  but  this,  mind  you,  refers  to  strawberry-plants 
set  out  in  the  spring. 

Now,  where  plants  are  set  out  in  July,  August,  September, 
and  even  October,  as  we  frequently  do  with  the  transplanting- 
tubes,  it  seems  a  pretty  hard  matter  to  turn  them  under  after 
they  have  borne  only  one  crop  ;  and,  in  fact,  I  would  not  ad- 
vise doing  it  where  the  plants  are  set  later  than  August.  Then 
comes  the  question,  How  shall  we  keep  old  beds  clean,  and 
free  from  weeds,  without  costing  more  than  the  berries  will 
come  to?  If  we  keep  off  all  plants  and  runners,  and  grow 
them  in  hills,  they  can  be  cultivated  and  hoed  as  well  as  other 
crops  ( but  removing  the  runners  as  fast  as  they  start,  is  also 
quite  a  task).  If,  however,  we  wish  to  have  a  thin  matted  row, 
as  friend  Terry  recommends,  I  tell  you  we  have  got  business 
ahead  of  us.  If  mulching  has  been  used  this  must  be  removed, 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  155 

and  the  harrow  kept  going  through  the  whole  season.  The 
beds  had  better  be  worked  rather  narrow  ;  then  the  weeds  must 
be  kept  out  by  hoeing  and  hand  weeding — mostly  by  hand. 
The  only  hope  in  either  case  is  to  keep  the  weeds  from  getting 
a  start.  If  they  once  get  the  advantage,  and  get  away  above 
the  plants,  you  might  as  well  plow  it  all  up.  I  will  give  you  a 
hint,  however,  in  the  line  of  "  prevention  is  better  than  cure." 

A   PI,AN  TO   LESSEN  THE   LABOR  OF  WEEDING. 

Some  years  ago  during  August  I  visited  quite  a  strawberry- 
grower.  He  showed  me  with  pride  a  beautiful  plot  of  perhaps 
half  an  acre  growing  vigorously,  and  remarkably  clean.  Said  I, 

"  Mr.  S  ,  how  many  times  have  you  weeded  that  patch 
during  the  past  summer  ?  " 

"Only  twice." 

"Only  twice /"  repeated  I,  in  great  astonishment.  He 
smiled  while  he  nodded  bis  head.  I  saw  at  once  that  there  was 
some  trick,  about  it.  Finally  a  thought  came  into  my  head. 

"  Mr.  S.,  will  you  please  tell  me  what  crop  you  had  on  that 
ground  last  year?  " 

He  smiled  again  as  he  replied,  "  No  crop  at  all." 

"  Well,  what  did  you  do  with  the  ground  last  season  ?  " 

"  Oh  !  I  just  plowed  and  harrowed  it,  and  kept  doing  so  all 
the  summer  long.  After  I  had  made  every  weed  grow  that 
could  be  induced  to  start,  and  killed  it  with  a  harrow,  I  set  out 
my  plants  on  it  this  spring,  and  there  did  not  many  weeds 
grow  to  bother  me,  as  you  see." 

Mr.  S.  was  a  farmer,  and  could  spare  an  acre  of  ground 
for  one  season  much  easier  than  he  could  hire  hands  to  pull  the 
weeds  from  between  the  plants.  I  stated  the  matter  to  friend 
Terry,  and  asked  him  if  he  could  not  grow  a  crop  of  some- 
thing, and  still  kill  the  weeds  as  effectually  as  Mr.  S.  did.  He 
said  at  once  that  he  could,  and  grow  a  crop  of  potatoes.  And 
this  once  more  suggests  the  reason  why  friend  Terry  has  little 
labor  in  the  way  of  weeding  to  do,  compart  d  with  what  the 


156          ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

average  farmer  or  gardener  has  when  he  tries  to  raise  strawber- 
ries. So  the  moral  of  this  concluding  thought  is  this  :  Be  sure 
that  you  do  not  choose  ground  for  your  strawberry-patch  that 
is  already  abundantly  seeded  with  weeds.  In  fact,  if  you  are 
going  to  be  a  successful  grower,  and  if  it  can  be  so  managed, 
neither  should  any  weeds  be  allowed  to  go  to  seed  in  a  neigh- 
bor's land  adjoining. 

Now,  I  think  we  can  not  have  a  better  ending  to  our  straw- 
berry book  than  to  give  a  couple  of  letters  showing  what  may 
be  done  on  a  small  amount  of  ground  devoted  to  strawberries, 
and  also  showing  what  enthusiasm  and  excellent  care  will  do. 
The  first  comes  from  a  friend  whom  I  ran  across  by  accident. 
While  visiting  bee-keepers  in  Wisconsin  it  became  convenient 
to  be  carried  by  a  livery  across  from  one  town  to  another.  I 
had  no  destination  in  Boscobel,  so  I  told  the  driver  to  set  me 
down  at  some  place  where  there  were  plenty  of  bee-hives. 
When  I  saw  a  very  pretty  dooryard  comprising  about  half  an 
acre,  with  not  only  bee-hives,  honey-house,  etc.,  nearly  arrang- 
ed, but  containing,  also,  a  bed  of  nice  thrifty  strawberry -plants, 
I  told  him  he  might  let  me  drop  right  there.  The  following 
letter  refers  to  this  visit.  This  letter  also  shows  what  irrigation 
may  do  during  severe  dry  weather. 

STARTING    STRAWBERRY-BEDS   FROM   NEW   PLANTS    IN   JULY. 

In  friend  Root's  special  department  in  Gleanings  he  once  said,  "  You 
can  set  out  strawberries  (providing  you  have  the  plants  ready)  in  the 
months  of  July,  August,  September,  and  October.  But  the  earlier  you  can 
get  them  out,  the  greater  will  be  the  crop  the  coming  season."  I  called 
my  wife's  attention  to  it,  and  told  her  that  I  was  going  to  try  a  bed  of 
strawberries  set  out  in  July;  and  on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  when  it  was 
fresh  in  my  mind,  I  went  to  a  bed  of  Jessie  strawberries  that  I  had  set  out 
last  fall  and  this  spring,  and  had  not  allowed  them  to  mature  their  fruit, 
on  account  of  wanting  plants  from  them  early.  Well,  between  the  10th 
and  15th  of  July,  this  season,  I  took  therefrom  270  fine  plants,  and  set  them 
out  in  a  bed  that  I  had  prepared  for  them.  The  bed  consisted  of  3  rows, 
each  4  rods  long,  and  about  30  inches  in  distance  between  the  rows.  I  did 
not  have  any  of  friend  Root's  transplanting-tubes.  But  I  lost  only  two  or 
three  plants  out  of  the  270.  I  took  extra  care  of  them,  and  kept  them  wa- 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  157 

tered  and  shaded  when  the  sun  was  at  the  noon-mark.  Then  when  these 
got  nicely  to  growing  I  looked  over  Root's  special  kinds  of  strawberries. 
Besides  the  Jessies,  which  he  had  spoken  very  highly  of,  I  found  that  he 
also  had  put  the  Bubachs  near  the  head  of  the  list,  so  I  sent  immediately 
to  friend  Kellogg,  of  Janesville,  Wis.,  for  100  Bubach  strawberry-plants, 
and  within  four  days  I  had  them  nicely  set  out  among  my  270  Jessies  ;  and 
when  friend  Root  made  his  Wisconsin  visit  some  time  ago  he  called  on  me 
because  he  saw  a  garden  and  some  hives  of  bees  in  the  yard.  He  said  they 
were  as  nice  as  any  he  had  seen.  I  wish  he  could  see  them  now  as  they 
cover  the  ground  from  one  side  to  the  other  nicely.  I  spend  many  happy 
moments  of  time  with  my  fruit,  and  especially  with  my  three  beds  of 
strawberries.  There  is  hardly  a  day  when  I  am  at  home  but  that  I  look 
at  and  do  some  fixing  with  them. 

We  have  been  having  extremely  dry  weather  here,  and  some  strawber- 
ry-beds are  almost  burned  up.  But  mine  are  rank  and  green,  as  if  in  a 
wet  season.  Whenever  I  have  a  few  moments  of  time  I  go  to  the  straw- 
berry-bed and  straighten  out  the  runners  and  bury  the  roots  of  the  plants 
formed  on  them,  and  keep  doing  so  as  long  as  it  is  so  dry  that  they  can't 
take  root ;  then  when  the  sun  gets  so  low  down  as  to  shade  the  bed  I  wet 
them  all  with  water  that  has  been  pumped  out  of  the  well  12  or  15  hours. 
I  actually  take  delight  in  working  in  my  garden,  and  I  devote  hours  of 
time  therein  when  I  can't  work  among  the  bees.  BENJ.  E.  RICE. 

Boscobel,  Wis.,  Sept.  7,  1889. 

To  show  the  result  of  this  care,  watering,  etc. ,  we  now  give 
a  letter  received  just  after  the  berry-picking  season  of  1890  : 

EIGHTY   QUARTS  FROM  A   PIECE  OF  GROUND   5X82^    FEET. 

Friend  Root  .-—The  strawberry-bed  you  saw  in  my  yard  in  Boscobel, 
the  day  you  arrived  there,  is  82^  feet  long  by  5  feet  wide.  We  picked  80 
quarts  of  as  fine  berries  as  any  one  ever  saw,  from  said  bed.  They  are 
the  Jessie  and  Bubach  varieties.  The  little  boy  measured  one  that  was  5J^ 
inches  around.  This  bed  was  only  eleven  months  old  when  it  produced 
the  80  quarts  of  berries.  You  saw  this  bed  a  few  days  after  it  was  set  out, 
it  being  a  very  dry  time.  BENJ.  E.  RICE. 

Boscobel,  Wis.,  Julj  2,  1890. 

And  now,  dear  friends,  we  givfe  one  more  letter,  \vhich 
seems  to  be  a  fitting  one  for  the  end  of  the  book,  especially  as 
it  emphasizes  the  little  text  that  has  long  been  one  of  my  es- 
pecially favorite  ones  from  God's  holy  word.  The  text  is 
this:  "Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteous- 
ness, and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you."  Lest  the 


158  A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE 

readers  of  this  little  book  who  are  not  acquainted  with  me 
through  our  journal,  Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture^  may  think  it  a 
little  unusual  that  an  entire  stranger  should  write  in  a  way  that 
may  seem  extravagant,  I  may  say,  by  way  of  apology,  that 
such  letters  have,  during  the  years  of  my  labors  with  the  bee?, 
strawberries,  and  other  growing  crops,  been  worth  more  to  me, 
a  hundred  times  more,  than  the  money  I  have  received  from 
my  work  as  a  journalist,  as  a- bee-keeper,  and  as  a  market-gar- 
dener. 

BEES,  STRAWBERRIES,   AND— ETERNAL   LIFE. 

Friend  Root : — You  have  been  a  friend  indeed  to  me  for  ten  years 
(through  Gleanings),  and  great  has  been  the  pleasure  and  considerable 
the  profit  from  this  friendship,  which  I  hope  may  increase  until  we  may 
meet  together  on  this  earth  if  possible;  if  not,  in  another  and  brighter 
one  above.  I  have  followed  you  faithfully  through  your  different  chan- 
nels of  "  what  to  do  and  how  to  be  happy  doing  it ;  "  and  although  I  am 
employed  at  good  pay,  ten  hours  a  day  in  a  factory  at  my  trade  (die-sinker 
and  mold-maker),  I  utilize  my  spare  moments  in  caring  for  my  bees  and 
helping  things  to  grow. 

The  Honey  Statistics  for  Aug.  15  doesn't  seem  to  do  our  State  justice. 
If  you  will  send  me  your  cards  I  should  be  pleased  to  report  at  any  time. 
I  am  situated  in  the  exact  center  of  the  State,  as  the  town  signifies  (Mid- 
dletown).  From  13  colonies  I  have  taken  about  one  thousand  pounds  sur- 
plus, 400  Ibs.  of  which  is  comb — an  average  of  77  Ibs.  per  colony,  and  in- 
creased to  19.  Our  honey  is  all  from  white  clover,  and  all  gathered  in 
June.  The  hive  on  the  scales  showed  a  gain  of  10  Ibs.  per  day  for  three 
days,  and  9J^  one  day. 

I  have  also  been  in  the  strawberry  business,  and  you  can't  send  me  the 
strawberry  book  by  Terry  any  too  soon.  I  have  read  all  his  books,  and 
am  anxious  for  more,  with  the  enthusiasm  that  goes  with  them. 

My  strawberry-bed  is  composed  of  seven  square  rods,  from  which  I 
picked  nearly  eight  bushels  (250  quarts);  market  price,  $37.50.  I  not  only 
supplied  my  neighbors  with  nice  fresh  strawberries  at  paying  prices, 
but  have  given  a  great  many  the  strawberry  fever,  and  now  am 
supplying  them  with  plants  and  advice  (I  charge  only  for  plants).  I  have 
also  raised  40  bushels  of  potatoes,  getting  $1.00  per  bushel  for  20  bushels  of 
early  ones ;  and,  dear  brother,  this  is  not  all  I  have  received  from  your 
teachings  and  example.  I  have  received  the  pleasure  and  blessings  that 
come  to  one  who  strives  to  serve  the  Master,  and  do  his  will.  I  am  an  Ac- 
tive member  of  the  Young  People's  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor  con* 
nected  with  the  Congregational  church,  of  which  I  am  a  member.  I  thank 


ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.          159 

God  for  the  Y.  P.  S.  C.  E.,  and  the  good  it  has  done  and  will  do  in  the  fu- 
ture. I  also  thank  him  for  A.  I.  Root,  and  pray  for  more  like  him  ;  for  the 
greatest  compliment  I  receive  is,  "  That  is  just  like  Root ;  "  or,  "  That  is 
just  what  he  would  do  ;  "  for  hi  being  like  him,  or  doing  as  he  does,  I  am 
following  one  who  is  following  the  Master  and  striving  to  please  him  and 
not  himself. 

I  have  not  told  you  of  what   I  have  accomplished  this  summer,  dear 
brother,  to  brag,  but  to  show  you  the  good  you  have  done   me  and  mine, 
and  encourage  you  in  the  good  work  you  are  doing.        CHAS.  H.  LEWIS. 
Middletown,  Conn.,  Sept.  1,  1890. 

May  Gjd  in  his  great  mercy  bless  you,  my  dear  friend,  and 
help  me  to  deserve  a  little  better  your  very  kind  words.  Oh 
may  grace  and  strength  be  given  to  me  to  deserve  even  faintly 
the  very  high  compliment  you  pay  me  !  and  may  I  be  able  to 
remember  the  friends  who  are  looking  at  me,  and  who  perhaps 
are  influenced  by  my  example. 

And  now,  in  conclusion  may  I  ask  that  God's  blessing  rest 
on  every  reader  of  our  strawberry -book  ;  and  may  others  find 
the  pure  and  innocent  happiness  and  enjoyment  that  I  and 
these  other  friends  have  found  in  working  with  and  enjoying 
all  of  these,  God's  gracious  gifts. 


END   OF   THE   FIRST   EDITION   AS   PUBLISHED    (OR    PRETTY 
NEARLY   AS   PUBLISHED)    IN    1890. 


160          ABC  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE. 


PART  II. 

THIS    PART    CONSIDERS     STRAWBERRY  GROWING     THROUGH     A 
PERIOD   OF  TWELVE   YEARS,    FROM    1890   TO    1902. 

A  large  portion  of  Part  II.  consists  of  extracts  from  Glean- 
ings in  Bee  Culture  during  the  past  twelve  years  ;  and  we  com- 
mence it  with  a.  letter  from  T.  B.  Terry,  furnished  one  year 
after  the  strawberry  book  had  been  before  the  people. 

TERRY'S   STRAWBERRIES  IN  JUNE,  1891 ;    THE  MAY    FROSTS 

;  IN  HIS  LOCALITY,  ETC. 

Friend  Root ; — You  may  remember  that,  when  you  were 
here  about  a  year  ago,  asking  me  why  I  did  not  put  out  five  or 
ten  acres  of  strawberries,  and  get  rich,  I  did  not  make  much 
reply  ;  but  in  your  report  in  Gleanings  you  told  what  you 
thought  passed  through  my  mind  about  spoiling  the  privacy  of 
my  home,  etc.,  all  of  which  was  almost  word  for  word  what  I 
did  think.  I  was  surprised  that  you  could  read  my  thoughts 
so  perfectly.  But  there  was  one  thought  that  you  did  not  get 
hold  of  at  all,  that  flashed  through  my  head.  It  was  this  : 
This  is  not  a  safe  locality  for  growing  strawberries  largely. 
One  could  make  a  great  deal  of  money  from  five  acres,  perfect- 
ly tended  to,  of  fine  large  berries,  put  into  Cleveland  when  just 
right  for  eating,  and  only  two  or  three  hours  from  the  vines,  if 
the  late  spring  frosts  did  not  interfere.  Last  year  they  did  not, 
and  our  success  was  all  we  could  ask  for.  This  year  our  half- 
acre  went  into  winter  in  perfect  shape.  No  pains  were  spared 
to  give  every  plant  the  best  chance  possible.  We  mulched 
them  heavily  to  keep  them  back  ;  but  alas  !  the  freeze  of  May 
16th  killed  all  the  blossoms  and  many  of  the  buds,  and  most  of 
the  leaves,  and  many  of  the  plants  themselves.  The  earth 
froze  here  from  one  fo  two  inches  deep.  I  actually  dug  up 
pieces  of  frozen  soil  in  the  morning,  two  inches  thick.  The 
Bubachs  and  Haverlands  are  just  about  ruined  ;  all  suffered  se- 
verely, but,  as  usual,  the  Sterling  stood  the  frost  best.  They 
are  altogether  the  safest  berrv  for  our  farm.  I  suppose  in  that 
one  night  we  lost  $200  worth  of  berries.  The  frosts  early  in 
May  hurt  us  little,  as  our  berries  were  mulched  so  heavily  they 
had  not  started  much.  This  loss  does  not  trouble  us,  because 
we  expected  it  sooner  or  later.  We  are  liable  to  killing  frosts 


ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  161 

until  June,  and  even  then  feel  a  little  unsafe  until  a  week  has 
passed.  We  were  growing  that  half -acre  of  strawberries  large- 
ly for  the  pleasure  of  doing  our  best  on  a  little  land,  and  not  as 
a  source  of  income.  Now,  do  you  not  see  that,  if  we  had  made 
a  business  of  it,  and  had  five  or  ten  acres,  we  should  have  been 
hurt  badly  ?  I  know  these  conditions  to  exist  here,  and  have 
no  right  to  put  out  a  crop  that  it  would  cripple  me  to  lose,  and 
then  blame  Providence  for  bad  luck.  All  these  points  have 
been  studied  most  carefully.  Our  crops  of  potatoes,  wheat, 
and  clover,  are  almost  perfectly  safe.  They  have  never  failed 
to  pay  us.  I  could  make  more  money  from  strawberries,  if 
they  were  as  safe  ;  but  they  are  not,  here.  There  are  places 
where  they  are.  Within  a  mile  is  a  hill  of  rich,  mellow,  moist 
soil  on  which  I  would  not  hesitate  to  put  out  strawberries  large- 
ly. As  it  is,  one  does  not  like  to  work  hard  for  nothing  half 
the  time,  and  we  shall  set  out  only  plenty  of  strawberries 
for  our  own  use  in  the  future.  We  decided  on  this  before  the 
frost,  knowing  well  the  chances,  and  set  out  this  year  only 
what  should  bring  us,  say,  20  bushels  in  a  good  year.  We  will 
do  our  best  to  succeed  in  what  we  undertake  ;  and  then,  if  fail- 
ure comes,  it  will  be  no  fault  of  ours.  Special  farming  is  not 
very  popular,  but  we  will  grow  what  nature  has  best  fitted  our 
farm  for.  We  want  safety  and  almost  certainty  with  as  little  of 
luck  and  lottery  as  possible. 

Now,  this  is  the  idea  that  went  through  my  mind,  friend 
Root,  when  you  asked  me  why  I  did  not  put  in  many  acres  of 
strawberries.  I  wish  I  had  brought  it  out  more  fully  in  our  lit- 
tle strawberry-book.  Being  rather  set  up  by  success  then,  I 
hardly  made  as  plain  as  I  should  this  point  of  going  against 
nature.  But  still  that  book  was  intended  mostly  for  farmers, 
who  raise  berries  only  for  their  own  use,  and  this  I  would  do  in 
any  locality,  however  unfavorable.  By  setting  out  the  varieties 
that  stand  frost  best,  and  by  heavy  mulching,  and,  best  of  all, 
by  setting  out  a  great  plenty,  berries  may  be  almost  a  certainty; 
and  if  not  particularly  profitable  some  years,  it  will  not  matter 
on  a  small  patch.  T.  B.  TERRY. 

Hudson,  O.,  June  4,  1891. 


11 


162          ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY    CULTURE. 


STRAWBERRY  TIME  |   GETTING  RID  OF  THE  CROP  WHEN  THERE 

IS   A  GLUT  IN    THE  MARKET. 
From  Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture,  July  i,  1892. 

The  latter  part  of  June  is  generally  the  height  of  the  straw- 
berry season  in  our  locality.  Mrs.  Root  has  several  times  wor- 
ried about  strawberry  time,  for  she  said  it  would  make  us  so 
much  business  that  I  would  overwork  again.  It  is  not  only  the 
pickers  that  have  to  be  looked  after,  but  the  folks  who  do  the 
selling  ;  and  as  we  have  a  larger  area  of  strawberries  than  ever 
before,  it  looked  quite  likely  that  there  would  be  difficulty  in 
selling  the  whole  product.  Of  course,  we  might  ship  them  off; 
but  my  experience  has  been  so  unsatisfactory  in  shipping  straw- 
berries that  I  have  decided  to  sell  what  we  can  at  home,  and  let 
the  rest  go.  To-day,  June  22,  1892,  we  are  right  in  the  midst 
of  the  battle.  The  town  is  full  of  berries,  and  loads  are  com- 
ing in  from  every  direction  ;  and  the  report  comes,  that,  even 
though  they  offer  them  at  5  cts.  by  the  bushel,  they  do  not  sell. 
I  knew  by  past  experience  just  what  was  needed — more  energy 
and  care  all  around.  Of  course,  we  have  been  having  exces- 
sive rains,  and  many  kinds  of  berries  are  soft.  The  pickers, 
too,  where  they  pick  by  the  quart,  get  eager  to  fill  the  boxes, 
and  quite  a  few  that  are  soft  on  one  side,  and  sometimes  rotten, 
get  in.  I  went  down  among  them  myself,  and  told  them  that 
we  could  not  sell  our  berries  unless  they  were  more  careful. 
Sometimes,  through  false  economy,  they  picked  berries  too 
small  to  be  of  any  account  ;  and  every  little  while  some  new 
hand  would  be  getting  them  before  they  were  fully  ripe.  A  lit- 
tle kind  exhortation  made  quite  a  difference  in  the  looks  of  the 
products.  Then  the  market  was  watched,  just  as  we  watched 
the  barometer.  By  ten  or  eleven  o'clock,  if  sales  were  drop- 
ping, pickers  were  stopped,  each  one  being  directed  to  make  a 
mark  in  his  row  just  where  he  left  off,  so  he  could  find  it  when 
he  commenced  again.  As  they  began  work  at  five  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  sometimes  earlier,  they  did  not  much  mind  resting 
from  ten  till  two  or  three.  If  the  folks  on  the  wagon  sold  out 
sooner,  of  course  we  started  to  pick  earlier ;  and  when  sales 
were  so  close  on  the  heels  of  the  pickers  that  they  had  to  wait 
for  berries,  there  is  quite  an  advantage  in  being  able  to  tell  pur- 
chasers, "There,  these  berries  have  not  been  off  the  vines  an 
hour."  If  any  stock  began  to  get  poor  or  old,  the  directions 
were  to  let  it  slide  for  any  decent  offer.  They  were  also  direct- 
ed to  keep  the  berries  out  of  the  sun.  For  several  days  I  have 


A  B  C   OF  STR  VWBERRY    CULTURE  163 

been  stationed  in  front  of  our  factory,  where  the  berries  are 
stored  on  the  north  side  of  our  fruit-house,  right  out  upon  the 
walk.  To  save  myself  steps,  half  a'dozen  small  boys  are  across 
the  street  in  the  plant-gardens,  weeding,  picking  peas,  clean- 
ing the  walks,  or  doing  something  to  keep  themselves  busy  un- 
til I  need  them.  If  a  message  comes  from  t1-:e  wagon,  half  a 
dozen  of  them  can  pick  peas,  go  to  the  berry-patch  and  help 
the  berry-pickers,  or  bring  in  berries  on  the  Daisy  wheelbar- 
rows. Monday  we  picked  10>^  bushels;  yesterday  (Tuesday) 
we  picked  9>^ .  A  heavy  rain  broke  in  upon  us  in  the  afternoon. 
This  morning  the  wagon  started  out  with  an  unusually  heavy 
load  ;  but  by  nine  o'clock  they  had  sold  out.  In  the  meantime 
I  had  done  a  lively  business  on  the  sidewalk,  selling  by  the 
bushel  where  I  had  a  chance.  The  price  had  been  running  from 
5  to  7  cts.,  till  one  of  the  boys  brought  in  a  basket  of  Parker 
Barles.  These  went  off  so  quickly  at  8  cts.,  that,  when  anoth- 
er boy  came  in  with  some  very  choice  Edgar  Queens,  I  put  the 
price  at  10  cts.,  and  they  sold  without  a  bit  of  trouble.  Both 
of  the  two  above  varieties  are  wonderful  acquisitions.  The 
Beder  Wood,  spoken  of  in  our  last  issue,  have  ripened  up  better 
than  I  supposed  they  could  ripen  ;  but  the  vines  were  so  over- 
loaded that  the  largest  part  of  them  are  necessarily  small. 
While  speaking  of  varieties,  I  wish  to  say  a  good  word  for  War- 
field  No.  2.  It  is  not  a  large  berry,  but  it  is  of  the  deepest  red 
of  any  berry  that  comes  in  market ;  and  with  this  bright  at- 
tractive color  comes  the  most  fascinating  and  dainty  tart  flavor, 
and  that  makes  them  my  favorite  berry.  It  is  also  quite  firm  ; 
and  when  the  weather  is  so  wet  that  the  others  are  in  danger  cf 
mashing  down  in  a  heap,  the  Warfield  is  firm  and  solid.  Tr»- 
Haverlands,  on  very  rich  soil,  and  with  a  superabundance  <  f 
rain,  are  rather  too  soft  to  be  handled.  In  fact,  the  Havtrland 
and  Bubach  both,  many  of  them,  taste  watery,  and  they  some- 
times begin  to  spoil  before  they  are  fully  ripe.  The  matter  may 
be  remedied  somewhat  by  planting  them  in  single  hills  instead 
of  matted  rows  ;  and  this  gives  still  larger  berries  ;  but  it  is 
quite  expensive  to  mulch  where  plants  are,  say,  a  foot  apart. 
In  the  matted  row,  very  little  mulching  keeps  all  the  berrit  s 
out  of  the  dirt.  We  have  lost  bushels  and  bushels  of  beautiful 
berries  this  season  because  the  excessive  wetness  and  lack  of 
mulching  made  them  too  muddy  to  bring  even  half  price.  I 
should  not  forget  to  add,  that,  when  all  other  resources  failed 
to  get  rid  of  a  great  quantity  of  berries,  the  cook  in  our  lunch- 
room has  disposed  of  many  bushels  by  making  them  into  straw- 
berry jam. 


164          ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 


THE   BUBACH   PLANTED   IN   THE   FAI,!,,    UNDER   FAVORABLE 
CIRCUMSTANCES. 

The  following  extract  is  taken  from  Gleanings  in  Bee  Cul- 
ture for  June  15,  1893.  It  touches  three  important  points  in 
strawberry  culture  :  First,  strawberries  put  out  in  the  fall  may, 
with  proper  management,  give  a  profitable  crop  the  next  sea- 
son. Second,  it  emphasizes  the  value  of  the  Bubach  strawber- 
ry when  properly  handled.  Third,  it  shows  what  persistent 
heavy  manuring  will  do  in  the  way  of  getting  your  money 
back. 

Michel's  Early  did  not  yield  enough  to  supply  the  demand, 
and  there  was  a  "  corner  "  in  strawberries.  It  was  Monday  aft- 
ernoon. They  were  all  sold  out  in  the  lunch-room,  and  one  of 
the  clerks  asked  if  I  could  not  get  a  few  more,  even  if  they 
were  not  real  ripe.  The  pickers  had  been  all  over  the  grounds 
in  the  forenoon,  and  had  picked  every  thing  they  thought 
would  do  to  sell.  I  said  I  would  go  and  get  some  that  were 
ripe  on  one  side,  and  perhaps  our  customers  would  rather  have 
these  than  none  at  all.  As  I  rode  along  the  path  on  my  wheel 
I  got  glimpses  of  some  bright-red  berries  through  the  dark- 
green  foliage  of  some  young  plants  that  stood  almost  knee- 
high.  Friend  Terry  once  spoke  about  having  strawberry -leaves 
large  enough  so  a  single  one  would  cover  the  top  of  a  teacup. 
Well,  we  could  show  some  leaves  this  spring  a  good  deal  larger 
than  that.  I  sprang  from  the  wheel  and  found  a  berry  on  the 
very  first  plant  in  the  row,  that  looked  more  like  a  peach  than 
it  did  a  strawberry.  The  plants  were  put  out  last  fall,  two  feet 
apart,  and  they  made  but  few  runners  ;  but  each  plant  had  in 
consequence  got  to  be  something  immense.  At  the  next  plant 
I  found  another  like  a  small  peach.  Pretty  soon  my  hands 
were  full.  I  called  to  a  boy  to  bring  me  some  boxes  ;  and 
while  I  filled  them  I  began  to  speculate  as  to  what  those  plants 
were.  Said  I  to  myself,  "  Why,  this  must  be  the  Edgar  Queen; 
and  if  this  is  the  way  it  behaves  I  will  just  go  and  plant  acres 
of  it."  Then  I  felt  pretty  certain  that  we  did  not  put  any  of 
the  Edgar  Queen  on  that  part  of  the  grounds.  What  could 
that  wonderful  plant  be  ?  It  was  not  Parker  Earle,  because  the 
latter  is  a  late  berry,  and  this  particular  one  was  not  more  than 
three  or  four  days  later  than  Michel's  Early  ;  it  must  be  a  won- 
derful acquisition.  Twenty  rods  ahead  was  a  stake  with  a  label, 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE.          165 

but  I  could  not  read  it  so  far  off.  I  decided  I  would  pick  ber- 
ries until  I  reached  the  stake  ;  and  as  I  filled  box  after  box 
with  the  great  beauties,  my  enthusiasm  ran  up  to  fever  heat. 
Said  I  again,  "Why,  I  never  heard  of  any  early  strawberi  y 
that  gives  such  wonderful  great  fruit  as  this,  before.  The  Hav- 
erland,  Jessie,  and  other  early  varieties  have  hardly  commenced 
to  ripen.  What  can  it  be? "  When  I  reached  the  stake  I  said, 
"  Why,  you  old  stupid,  you  might  have  known  that  the  rich 
dark-green  color  of  those  great  broad  leaves  belongs  to  no  oth- 
er plant  in  the  world  than  to  the  Bubach.  Three  cheers  for  tte 
Bubach  in  its  perfection  !"  How  does  it  come  that  we  have 
had  Bubach  all  these  years,  and  have  not  found  out  before  what 
it  can  do?  Well,  I  will  tell  you.  Almost  ever  since  we  have 
had  the  Bubach  the  weather  has  been  overwet.  They  rotted 
before  they  got  ripe,  or  were  too  soft  and  watery  in  taste.  Just 
now  we  are  having  a  little  bit  of  drouth,  and  the  Bubach  has 
for  the  first  time  come  to  the  front.  Another  thing,  these  plants 
were  growing  on  a  strip  of  creek-bottom  ground  that  has  been 
dosed  and  dosed  with  manure  until  everybody  said  I  could  nev- 
er get  my  money  back.  L,et  me  tell  you  something.  Strawber- 
ries were  selling  up  town  for  12  cts.  a  quart.  Our  own  brought 
15,  because  they  were  picked  only  as  fast  as  customers  wanted 
them.  I  put  these  great  big  Bubachs  in  pint  boxes,  and  mark- 
ed them  10  cts.  a  box,  and  they  were  all  gone  in  no  time.  Folks 
bought  them  as  curiosities  to  show  to  their  friends  ;  and  after 
they  had  taken  a  bite  or  two  out  of  one  of  those  great  big  ber- 
ries they  found  the  quality  so  delicious  under  the  influence  of 
this  clear  hot  sun  from  4  in  the  morning  till  7  in  the  afternoon 
(am  I  putting  in  too  much  sunshine?)  that  they  just  came  back 
and  wanted  more  of  that  new  kind  of  strawberry  "  as  big  as 
peaches ; ' '  and  while  I  am  writing  this,  we  are  picking  and 
selling  more  like  them  at  10  cts.  a  pint.  We  are  now  going  in 
with  more  enthusiasm  than  ever  before  to  raise  some  Bubach 
plants  that  will  astonish  some  of  our  friends  who  get  them,  as 
the  berries  astonished  the  Medina  folks. 

Moral. — Old  friends  are  sometimes  equal  to  or  better  than 
new  ones,  if  you  wait  long  enough  and  give  them  a  fair  chance. 

The  above,  as  you  will  notice,  was  written  eight  years  ago 
last  June.  I  have  tried  several  times  to  do  the  same  thing  since 
then,  but  I  have  not  succeeded  in  getting  the  Bubach  as  early 
as  it  was  that  season,  nor  have  I  had  as  fine  berries.  So  many  dif- 
ferent elements  come  in  to  make  a  success  like  the  above  that  it 


166          ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

is  really  a  difficult  matter  to  secure  such  results  every  time.  I 
have  had  something  nearly  as  good  by  putting  the  plants  two 
feet  apart  from  center  to  center  each  way,  and  keeping  all  the 
runners  off  ;  but  I  think  I  may  say  the  finest  berries  I  ever  grew 
were  from  plants  set  in  the  fall.  Of  course,  we  do  not  get  as 
many  berries  to  the  acre  as  with  a  matted  row;  but  where  they 
bring  almost  double,  as  in  the  case  above,  it  may  pay  just  as 
well  after  all. 


A   WHEELRIDE  TO  T.    B.   TERRY'S     AND     SOME  OF  HIS  NEIGH- 
BORS  IN   JULY,    1894;   ALSO     SOMETHING  ABOUT    MARKET- 
ING THE   CROP  JUST  THE  VERY  MINUTE  IT  IS  AT  ITS 
BEST,    AND  WILL  BRING  THE   MOST  MONEY. 

The  following  account  of  my  wheelride  has  something  to 
siy  about  potatoes  and  other  things  as  well  as  strawberries 
that  I  think  our  readers  will  be  interested  in  notwithstanding. 
It  is  taken  from  Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture  for  July  15,  1894. 

All  through  the  month  of  May  I  was  impatient  to  get  over 
inlo  Summit  Co  ;  but  business,  muddy  roads,  and  one  thing 
after  another,  prevented  until  Friday,  June  8,  when  I  got  things 
fixed  around  so  I  thought  I  could  go  ;  but  so  many  things  need- 
ed attention  that  it  was  after  dinner  before  I  could  get  off  ;  then 
something  more  had  to  be  seen  to  until  I  was  startled  to  find 
that  it  lacked  only  20  minutes  of  j,  and  I  must  either  give  it  up 
or  make  30  miles  before  dark  ;  and  a  goodly  part  of  the  30 
miles  was  up  and  down  the  tremendous  hills  bordering  on  the 
Cuyahoga  River.  I  laughingly  told  my  youngest  sister  that  I 
would  stand  in  T.  B.  Terry's  yard  before  the  sun  went  down, 
and  off  I  started.  The  new  light  wheel  made  point  after  point, 
much  quicker  than  the  heavier  one. 

Down  we  went  those  great  long  twisty  hilly  roads,  flying 
under  the  covered  bridge,  over  the  canal  and  along  the  edge  of 
the  river,  until  I  found  the  proper  road,  winding  along  another 
mountain  stream,  up  toward  Terry's  home.  I  was  so  animated 
with  the  idea  of  getting  there  before  sunset  that  I  did  not  v en- 
ure to  even  look  around.  I  found  friend  Terry  in  that  same 
fautiful  dooryard — handsomer,  yes,  ever  so  much  handsomer^ 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  167 

that  it  ever  looked  before,  and  I  asked  him  a  little  anxiously 
which  way  I  should  look  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  sun  before 
it  vanished.  Yes,  there  it  was  through  the  trees,  a  glowing 
golden  orb  ;  and  I  had  made  my  30  miles  in  just  about  an  even 
four  hours,  notwithstanding  the  hills  and  the  amount  of  visiting 
I  did  while  getting  my  supper.  I  felt  quite  anxious  to  know 
whether  Terry's  wheat  would  really  show  that  it  was  a  paying 
operation  to  work  the  soil  over  so  many  times  before  it  was 
sown,  last  fall.  And  I  was  glad  to  notice  the  finest  piece  of 
wheat,  perhaps,  I  ever  looked  upon.  His  locality,  however,  is 
a  very  frosty  one,  and  they  had  been  having  frosts  night  after 
night,  even  though  it  was  in  the  month  of  June,  and  he  feared 
his  wheat  had  suffered  somewhat  in  consequence.  It  had  also 
fallen  down  so  as  to  in  jure  it  somewhat.  Notice  the  difference 
in  just  30  miles.  We  had  been  picking  strawberries  for  a  week 
or  ten  days,  and  yet  none  of  his  were  ripe.  Heavy  mulching, 
and  a  location  north  of  an  evergreen  hedge,  had  likely  some- 
thing to  do  with  it. 

Friend  Terry  and  his  son  Robert  are  enlarging  their  farm- 
ing operations  somewhat  this  year.  Robert  is  getting  to  be 
somewhere  near  21  years  old,  and  his  father  is  naturally  quite 
anxious  he  should  choose  for  his  associates  those  who  neither 
drink,  smoke,  nor  swear.  Well,  somebody  told  me,  or  else  I 
dreamed  it,  that  the  boy  has  concluded  he  would  be  on  the  safe 
side  by  choosing  a  nice  looking  girl  for  an  associate — at  least, 
when  he  goes  out  riding  in  that  nice  new  buggy.  You  see,  a 
girl  would  be  quite  sure  to  be  free  from  any  of  these  bad  hab- 
its, and  I  am  not  a  bit  surprised  if  the  boy  finds  her  quite  as 
agreeable,  as  a  companion,  as  any  of  the  young  men.  And 
now  please  do  not  understand  me  as  casting  reflections  on  the 
young  men  in  the  vicinity  of  Hudson,  Ohio. 

Well,  the  boy  has  a  farm  adjoining  his  father's — or  at  least 
they  two,  father  and  son,  are  working  at  it  together.  The  old 
fences  have  been  removed,  and  new  ones— that  is,  where  any 
fence  was  needed — have  taken  their  place.  Old  trees,  big 
stones  and  stumps,  and  all  useless  rubbish,  have  been  cleared 
away,  and  the  potatoes  are  already  coming  up  on  this  neglected 
waste.  Now,  wouldn't  it  be  funny  if  those  potatoes  this  very 
first  year  should  conclude  to  behave  themselves  exactly  as  they 
do  over  on  the  father's  farm,  and  bear  great  crops  from  the 
word  go  ?  I  went  through  the  fruit-garden  where  the  raspber- 
ries, blackberries,  and  currants  have  not  seen  a  hoe  nor  culti- 
vator for  the  past  six  years.  Mulching  with  straw  does  it  all. 


168          ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE. 

Friend  Terry  thinks  it  would  not  require  over  two  tons  of  straw 
per  acre  where  this  amount  is  put  on  every  year.  And  this  is 
all  there  is  to  it.  The  berry-patch  always  looks  neat  and  tidy, 
always  bears  a  prodigious  crop,  no  matter  how  dry  it  is,  and  all 
the  owner  has  to  do  is  to  pick  the  berries,  each  in  its  season. 

Next  I  whirled  into  the  beautiful  town  of  Kent,  Portage 
Co.,  O.  A  niece  of  mine  has  recently  got  married.  Somebody 
said  she  was  a  little  bit  inclined  to  be  homesick  since  living  in 
Kent,  and  I  must  call  on  her.  I  found  her  husband  in  one  of 
the  drygoods  stores.  He  marched  me  into  the  best  room  of 
one  of  the  pretty  little  cottages  in  Kent,  and  in  a  minute  more 
I  heard  something  like  this  : 

4  Millie,  there  is  a  man  in  the  other  room  who  wants  to  see 
you.  ' 

'  Why,  who  is  he,  and  what  does  he  want  ?  " 

'  I  don't  know.  You  will  have  to  go  in  and  talk  with  him." 

'Oh  bother!" 

You  see,  the  new  wife  was  deep  in  the  mysteries  of  bread- 
making — that  is,  her  fingers  were  ;  but  when  she  caught  sight 
of  the  said  "man,"  who  insisted  on  seeing  the  ladv  of  the 
house,  she  just  threw  up  her  hands  and  ejaculated,  "O  Uncle 
Amos  !  have  you  really  got  over  here?  " 

I  do  not  know  whether  any  of  the  flour  from  her  fingers 
got  on  my  coat-collar  or  not ;  but  there  was  danger  of  it.  Per- 
haps I  did  look  rather  fresh  and  bright  for  an  uncle  toward  60 
years  old  ;  for,  about  half  a  mile  out  of  Kent,  I  found  a  pretty 
watering-trough,  with  a  sort  of  annex  at  one  end  where  the  wa- 
ter poured  over  into  a  stone  basin,  where  the  dogs  could  drink 
with  comfort.  I  first  had  a  good  drink  of  the  soft  water,  then 
I  washed  my  hands  in  the  dog  trough,  and  some  way  or  other 
my  head  got  down  under  that  cooling  stream.  If  you  have 
never  ridden  a  wheel  you  can  not  imagine  the  delicious  sensa- 
tion. So  you  see  my  niece  found  me  with  my  face  washed  and 
hair  combed.  After  a  little  we  took  our  wheels  (this  young 
couple  are  both  provided  with  wheels)  and  ran  around  the  town. 
You  see  they  did  not  have  to  hitch  up  nor  even  pay  a  cab-driver. 
I  do  not  know  how  it  happened,  but  my  wheel  turned  up  al- 
most of  itself  in  front  of  an  ice-cream  stand.  Some  beautiful 
strawberries  out  on  the  walk,  right  in  front,  must  have  had 
something  to  do  with  it.  Millie  ordered  some  strawberries 
while  I  was  asking  for  ice-cream  ;  and — did  you  ever  try  great 
luscious  Bubach  strawberries  mashed  up  in  ice-cream,  when 
you  were  hot  and  thirsty?  I  began  wondering  who  put  such 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.          169 

beautiful  strawberries  on  the  market  so  early  in  the  season  ;  and 
within  an  hour  I  was  having  an  enthusiastic  talk  with  the  very 
man,  my  friend  I/.  B.  Pierce,  of  Tallmadge,  O.  No  one  who 
reads  the  agricultural  papers  of  the  United  States  needs  an  in- 
troduction to  friend  Pierce.  About  a  year  ago  (see  page  534, 
July  1,  1893)  I  told  you  about  his  strawberry-plantation  out  in 
the  sandy  woods,  or  on  ground  that  had  been  woods  but  a  short 
time  before.  New  ground  just  reclaimed  from  the  forest  must 
have  some  special  fitness  for  strawberries.  It  was  Saturday, 
and  friend  Pierce  was  about  as  much  astonished  as  any  of  us  to 
find  that  there  were  just  bushels  and  bushels  of  berries  ready 
to  pick  He  had  picked  the  afternoon  before,  and  decided  they 
would  do  nicely  until  Monday  ;  but  the  beautiful  warm  weath- 
er, after  such  a  protracted  cold  rainy  spell,  had  done  the  busi- 
ness. We  sampled  all  the  new  varieties,  and  tasted  and  tested, 
until  we  could  not  tell  a  good  berry  if  we  saw  it.  I  insisted 
that  friend  Pierce  should  hunt  up  his  pickers,  and  get  those 
berries  into  market  before  night.  But  he  got  his  work  laid  out 
otherwise,  and  could  not  break  up  his  plans.  Perhaps  he  got 
as  much  money  for  his  berries  the  Monday  following,  but  I  felt 
pretty  sure  he  would  not.  Besides,  some  of  them  would  be 
overripe.  I  said  so  much  about  it,  that  friend  Pierce  would 
have  been  almost  excusable  in  saying  he  knew  how  to  manage 
his  own  business.  He  did  not  know,  however,  and  neither  did 
I,  that  my  own  berry-patch  at  home  was  pretty  much  in  the 
same  predicament.  Wait  a  little. 

Then  I  visited  my  cousin,  Wilbur  Fenn.  He  has  just  got 
a  new  potato  planter,  and  I  found  him  out  in  the  fields,  his 
group  of  bright  pretty  children  all  around  him  as  usual.  We 
had  ever  so  much  to  talk  about.  The  planter  that  he  had  just 
purchased  does  not  miss  hills.  It  leaves  the  soil  fine  and  mel- 
low underneath,  and  all  around  the  potato,  and  it  was  just  as 
accurate  as  planting  by  hand,  or  even  more  so.  In  fact,  it  is 
hand-planting.  We  went  out  into  the  field  where  the  potatoes 
were  coming  up,  and  looked  into  the  matter.  A  bright  little 
girl  ten  years  old  was  so  much  interested  and  animated  in  re- 
gard to  the  whole  matter  that  I  very  soon  discovered  she  did 
some  of  the  dropping.  She  sat  behind  her  papa,  on  the  ma- 
chine, and  placed  the  pieces  of  potato  in  a  series  of  little  cups 
arranged  in  a  circle.  There  were,  perhaps,  two  dozen  of  them; 
and  the  dropper  has  only  to  keep  a  piece  of  potato  in  each  of 
these  two  dozen  cups  as  they  revolve  in  a  circle.  It  seems  to 
me  that  the  machine  is  a  magnificent  success.  But  something 
else  impressed  me  during  that  visit,  and  it  was  this  :  There  is 


170          ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY    CULTURE. 

no  success  with  machinery,  or  any  thing  else  in  the  line  of 
progress  and  civilization,  to  be  compared  with  the  success  that 
attends  the  man  who  has  his  own  children  so  much  interested 
in  all  his  work  on  the  farm  that  they  find  more  delight  in  his 
companionship  than  anywhere  else.  You  see,  it  was  vacation 
time,  so  the  children  could  be  with  their  father  from  morning 
till  night.  The  good  mother  told  me,  while  we  were  eating 
dinner,  that  the  little  girl  kept  wishing  and  hoping  that  some- 
thing would  hinder  the  hired  man  from  coming  the  day  they 
were  going  to  plant,  so  she  could  just  ride  on  that  machine  all 
day  and  put  the  pieces  of  potato  one  by  one  into  those  magic 
cups.  I  began  making  some  inquiry  in  regard  to  the  family, 
as  I  looked  from  one  bright  little  face  to  another.  Cousin  Fenn 
replied,  "There  are  just  five,  and  the  oldest  (the  little  girl  who 
dropped  the  potatoes)  sits  there  feeding  the  youngest  some 
bread  and  milk."  You  see,  she  knew  how  to  help  her  mamma 
by  feeding  the  baby,  just  as  well  as  she  knew  how  to  help  make 
that  complicated  machine  a  success  in  planting  potatoes.  I 
told  them  I  should  miss  my  train  unless  I  were  in  Akron  by  3 
o'clock  ;  but  I  had  to  see  the  potatoes  down  cellar  again.  And, 
by  the  way,  that  big  crop  of  Monroe  Seedlings  was  planted  the 
last  week  in  June,  instead  of  the  first,  as  I  have  had  it  in  some 
of  my  writings.  When  I  did  get  started  I  just  made  the  Victor 
Flyer  "fly,"  for  sure;  but  I  reached  the  station  ten  minutes 
too  late.  I  did  not  care  much,  however,  for  I  can  pretty  nearly 
keep  up  with  a  good  many  of  our  branch-railway  trains.  There 
was  another  train  two  hours  later  ;  and  I  decided  it  would  be 
much  more  to  my  liking  to  spend  the  time  at  Fairlawn,  Summit 
Co.  I  found  my  friend,  C.  W.  Frank,  enjoying  himself  among 
his  crops,  at  high-pressure  gardening.  We  got  around  to  the 
strawberry-patch  in  a  little  while,  and  then  I  ate  ever  so  many 
more.  Just  as  I  was  getting  ready  to  go  over  to  the  depot,  his 
sister  announced  that  supper  was  ready,  and  that  I  must  have 
some  "strawberries  and  cream."  I  told  them  that  I  should 
"get  left "  again,  and  it  was  Saturday  night,  and  our  boys 
doubtless  needed  me  sadly  to  help  them  wind  up  their  straw- 
berry-picking of  the  day  ;  but  friend  Frank  said  he  had  just 
been  over  to  the  station,  and  the  agent  said  the  train  could  not 
possibly  come,  along  sooner  than  45  minutes  ;  but  just  as  we 
were  half  through  our  merriment  with  strawberries  and  cream, 
the  whistle  blew.  I  sprang  for  my  wheel  ;  but  the  boys  had 
been  riding,  and  the  handle-bar  was  twisted.  I  was  left  again, 
an  d  I  want  to  tell  you  why  I  got  left  this  time.  The  station 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY    CULTURE.  171 

ugent  has  a  clock  worth  about  50  cts.,  and,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
he  had  to  keep  sun  time.  Every  time  a  passenger  wants  to 
know  when  the  train  leaves,  he  ciphers  the  difference  out  be- 
tween sun  time  and  standard  time,  and  he  generally  makes  a 
mistake,  just  as  he  did  in  my  case.  Never  mind.  I  went  back 
and  finished  my  strawberries  and  visit.  Then  I  rode  16  miles 
up  and  down  some  pretty  hard  sand-hills  a  part  of  the  way,  in 
just  96  minutes.  I  found  the  boys  had  "picked  the  berries  ex- 
cept those  up  by  the  windmill  (see  picture  in  Appendix  to  our 
book  "What  to  Do  and  How  to  be  Happy  while  Doing  It,") 
which  needed  picking  more  than  all  the  rest.  They  picked 
11  y2  bushels,  and  sold  them,  so  they  did  pretty  well ;  and  as 
they  did  not  see  any  thing  of  the  boss  at  the  time  he  agreed  to 
come,  they  went  home  tired,  and  concluded  that  those  great 
big  berries  on  the  clover  sod,  a  la  Terry,  would  have  to  stand  it 
till  Monday.  So  much  for  having  a  clock  run  by  sun  time. 


Later. — June  23,  while  trying  to  ride  uphill  in  the  sand,  I 
passed  a  buggy,  and  thought  the  faces  looked  familiar.  It 
was  friend  Pierce  and  his  wife.  After  a  little  talk  I  said  : 

"  How  much  did  you  get  for  those  strawberries  that  y©u 
left  on  the  vines  until  the  next  Monday  ?  " 

"  Oh  !  I  got  10  cts.  for  those  I  got  into  the  market  Monday 
forenoon  ;  but  some  of  them  that  the  boys  took  in  Monday 
night  brought  only  6.  I  suppose  they  were  pretty  soft  in  con- 
sequence of  being  overripe." 

There  you  see  it,  friends.  Had  the  strawberries  been  pick- 
ed Saturday  afternoon,  and  rushed  into  the  market  Saturday 
evening,  they  would  have  brought  almost  twice  as  much  money 
as  they  did  Monday  afternoon,  when  they  were  overripe  and 
everybody  else  was  pushing  them  into  the  market.  A  little 
later,  on  the  same  morning,  I  saw  a  large  crop  of  peas,  just 
right  to  pick,  between  the  rows  of  celery,  at  friend  Atwood's 
celery  farm,  near  Copley.  He  said  he  could  not  get  around  to 
it  to  market  them  that  day,  because  it  was  Saturday,  and  he 
guessed  they  would  have  to  wait  till  Monday,  even  if  some  of 
them  were  a  little  past  their  prime. 

Moral. — When  you  strive  with  all  your  might,  and  leave 
no  stone  unturned  to  get  a  fine  crop  of  any  thing  in  advance  of 
the  market,  do  not  let  your  enthusiasm  ooze  out  at  the  last  mo- 
ment, when  the  most  critical  time  of  all  comes  to  turn  your 
product  into  cash. 


172          ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 


SPACING  STRAWBERRIES    IN  ORDER  TO  GET  THE    BEST  POSSI- 
BLE RESULTS  WITH  THE   LEAST   AMOUNT  OF   LABOR. 
From  Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture,  Jnly  75,  1895. 

I  have  once  or  twice  mentioned  the  difficulty  of  getting 
strawberries  for  field  culture  evenly  spaced  over  the  ground 
without  having  it  cost  more  for  labor  than  we  could  afford  to 
pay.  Let  us  go  over  the  matter  briefly. 

Our  strawberry-book  directs  that  the  rows  be  4  feet  apart, 
and  the  plants  2  feet  apart  in  the  row.  This  is  the  plan  Terry 
has  decided  on,  and  he  gets  his  fine  even  stands  by  letting  the 
runners  go  out  and  set  pretty  much  their  own  way  ;  then  in  the 
fall  he  goes  over  the  plot  and  takes  out  the  superfluous  small 
plants  so  none  are  left  nearer  than  about  6  inches  apart.  I  be- 
lieve he  assists  in  getting  a  complete  matted  row  by  spacing 
the  runners  while  they  are  beginning  to  root — that  is,  he  assists 
nature  by  placing  the  runners  so  as  to  cover  the  ground  evenly. 
When  it  conies  time  to  put  on  the  mulch,  the  matted  row  is 
from  18  inches  to  2  feet  wide  ;  and  none  of  the  plants,  as  I  have 
before  mentioned,  are  nearer  than  6  inches  apart.  Well,  a  great 
part  of  our  planting  is  done,  as  you  know,  in  the  early  fall,  aft- 
er some  crop  is  taken  from  the  ground  ;  and  while  our  fall-set 
plants  put  out  runners  to  a  considerable  extent,  they  do  not,  of 
course,  produce  so  full  a  stand  as  where  they  are  planted  in  the 
spring  ;  therefore  it  becomes  exceedingly  desirable  to  have  the 
new  plants  evenly  spaced.  In  fact,  we  get  finer  and  larger  ber- 
ries, because  our  plants  have  more  room  But  it  is  exceedingly 
desirable,  as  I  have  said,  to  have  what  plants  there  are,  pretty 
thoroughly  distributed  over  the  ground — that  is,  over  this  strip 
of  ground,  say  18  inches  wide  and  the  length  of  the  field. 
Now,  I  have  for  years  been  trying  to  find  a  man  or  boy  who 
would  do  this  spacing,  and  do  it  well.  I  hope  none  of  our 
friends  will  feel  hurt  when  I  say  that  I  have  been  again  and 
again  disappointed.  I  have  said  to  myself ,"  Now,  I  am  sure 
this  man  or  boy  will  understand,  with  sufficient  explanation, 
just  what  is  wanted,  and  that  he  will  fall  in  love  with  the  job, 
just  as  I  love  it."  In  fact,  I  do  not  know  of  any  prettier  work 
in  the  world  than  to  take  a  nice  piece  of  ground,  with  strong 
thrifty  plants  putting  out  runners  rapidly,  and  train  them  so  as 
to  have  a  nice  even  beautiful  strawberry-bed.  You  think  the 
matter  is  very  simple,  do  you?  Well,  let  me  explain  some  of 
the  points  that  the  workman  must  keep  constantly  in  mind  : 

First,  he  must  swing  the  runners  around  to  the  right  or  left, 
so  that  the  new  plants  shall  not  all  be  on  one  side  of  the  old 


ABC  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE.          173 

plant,  at  the  same  time  keeping  in  mind  that  each  new  plant 
shall  be  at  least  6  inches  from  its  neighbor. 

Secondly,  as  we  keep  the  cultivator  constantly  running  be- 
tween the  rows,  the  first  thing  to  do  is  to  make  a  narrow  row — 
that  is,  avoid  stretching  a  runner  out  at  right  angles  so  it  will 
run  out  where  the  cultivator  will  be  sure  to  dig  it  up.  Of  course, 
the  man  who  runs  the  cultivator  can  swing  around  a  plant  thus 
stuck  straight  out,  or  he  can  jump  his  cultivator  over  it ;  but  I 
emphatically  object  to  putting  him  to  this  trouble.  His  busi- 
ness is  to  stir  over  every  inch  of  ground  possible,  with  the  cul- 
tivator ;  and  the  man  who  sets  the  plants  must  bear  this  in 
mind  and  keep  his  row  narrow — that  is,  he  must  gradually 
widen  the  bed  out  to  18  inches  or  2  feet.  Of  course,  some  very 
thrifty  plants  will  make  the  row  a  little  wider  at  some  points 
than  it  is  at  others  ;  but  it  can  be  gradually  widened  as  the 
growth  of  any  part  of  the  bed  demands. 

Thirdly,  the  one  who  spaces  the  runners  should  keep  con- 
stantly in  mind  that  he  is  to  fill  up  vacancies.  If  one  of  the 
original  plants  should  die,  by  stretching  runners  straight  out 
toward  the  spot  it  occupied,  from  each  side,  the  vacancy  can 
very  soon  be  filled  up  ;  and  during  a  favorable  time,  say  just 
after  a  rain,  some  of  the  oldest  and  best-rooted  plants  can  be 
taken  up  with  a  trowel,  and  moved  to  a  part  of  the  row  where 
more  plants  are  greatly  needed.  Now,  this  is  not  a  difficult 
matter,  neither  does  it  require  a  great  amount  of  labor,  to  have 
a  nice  stand  of  plants  at  no  place  being  greatly  crowded,  and 
at  no  place  having  very  many  vacancies.  I  said  I  had  tried  a 
great  many  men  and  boys.  I  have  not  tried  a  smart  woman 
yet ;  but  if  I  don't  have  better  success,  I  believe  I  shall  try  one. 
The  trouble  is  this  :  Almost  everybody  I  set  at  it  gets  along  too 
fast.  He  says  the  strawberries  are  all  done.  I  go  out  and  look 
at  a  row  ;  but  before  I  have  gone  a  rod  I  will  find  plants  taking 
root  not  two  inches  from  each  other.  I  will  find  altogether  too 
many  plants  at  one  side  of  the  old  plant,  and  too  few,  or  none 
at  all,  on  the  other  side.  Then  there  will  be  runners  sending 
out  their  white  roots  that  have  not  been  put  in  the  ground  at 
all ;  a  good  many  plants  right  out  in  the  path  of  the  cultivator, 
when  there  was  plenty  of  room  to  place  them  either  at  the  right 
or  the  left — at  least,  very  much  more  out  of  the  way  than  where 
I  find  them.  I  suspect  the  trouble  is  this  :  The  one  who  does 
the  work  is  not  particularly  interested  in  the  strawberry  busi- 
ness, and  his  mind  is  on  something  else.  Dear  friends,  it  is 
next  to  impossible  to  do  any  sort  of  work  well  and  thoroughly 


174          ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

unless  the  work  in  question  occupies  all  your  thoughts,  all  jour 
time,  and  all  your  attention.  After  the  above  prelude  I  have 
something  to  tell  you. 

Last  week  I  had  a  splendid  wheelride  right  in  the  month 
of  January  (1895).  I  was  attending  a  farmers'  institute  at  Ada, 
Hardin  Co.,  Ohio.  While  there  I  got  acquainted  with  Henry 
Young,  the  originator  of  the  Enhance  strawberry.  It  is  now 
one  of  the  prominent  strawberries  before  the  people.  It  is  a 
perfect  berry,  very  prolific,  beautiful  in  color,  a  strong  grower, 
free  from  rust,  and,  in  short,  would  be  a  model  berry  were  it 
not  for  its  awkward  shape,  and  that  some  object  to  its  tartness. 
This  latter  quality,  however,  makes  it  especially  desirable  for 
canning.  The  shape,  however,  has  with  many  rather  thrown 
it  into  the  background,  although  the  berries  are  about  as  large 
as  any  of  the  newer  sorts.  Well,  I  was  greatly  pleased  to  see 
friend  Young's  plantation,  even  in  the  month  of  January.  This 
Enhance  strawberry  is  his  pet — his  child.  He  loves  it ;  and,  as 
a  consequence,  it  does  wonderful  things  under  the  training  of 
his  loving  hands.  He  too  has  met  the  same  problem  I  have 
figured  above,  and  he  has  solved  it — at  least,  he  has  invented  a 
way  by  which  even  a  stupid  man,  or  one  with  his  mind  a  part 


FIG.    1. — MARKING   OUT  THE  GROUND. 

of  the  time  on  something  else,  might  set  out  a  bed  so  as  to  give 
a  perfect  stand.  He  does  it  this  way  :  He  sets  out  his  plants  in 
double  rows,  and  this  is  done  by  setting  the  plants  18  inches 
apart  each  way.  Now,  this  double  row  is  3  feet  from  the  m  xt 
double  row.  Fig.  1  will  show  how  he  marks  out  his  ground. 

After  the  ground  is  marked  as  above,  with  any  sort  of 
marker,  you  are  ready  to  put  out  your  plants.  The  path  for 
picking  the  berries  or  for  running  the  cultivator  is  just  a  yard 
wide.  The  plants,  after  the  plantation  is  put  out,  are  18  inctes 
apart  each  way.  Let  me  show  you  some  stars  standing  just  as 


A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  175 

the  plants  stand  when  they  are  growing   nicely,  before  putting 
out  any  runners  : 


•X-       #•  •*#  -X--X-  #       •&  •£       #  •£       •* 

FIG.  2.  —  PLANTS  AFTER  THEY  ARE  SET  OUT. 

Now  a  word  about  cultivating.  The  broad  spaces,  or  the 
paths  a  yard  wide,  of  course  can  be  cultivated  without  any 
trouble  ;  and  if  you  set  your  plants  with  a  spade,  on  the  plan 
given  by  Dan  White,  you  can  run  the  cultivator  within  an  inch 
of  the  plants  on  each  side,  without  injuring  them.  As  the  rows 
between  the  plants  are  only  18  inches  wide,  you  will  probably 
do  them  easiest  with  a  wheel-hoe.  Friend  Young  uses  a  wheel 
scuffle-hoe.  With  a  horse  trained  to  the  business,  and  a  culti- 
vator that  will  shut  up  narrow,  I  have  sometimes  done  quite  a 
good  job  of  cultivating  where  plants  were  18  inches  apart. 
Please  notice,  before  the  plants  have  put  out  any  runners,  you 
can,  with  the  horse  -  cultivator  and  the  hand-cultivator,  go 
through  them  both  ways,  so  as  to  cultivate  close  up  to  each 
plant  on  four  sides.  By  this  means  an  acre  of  plants  can  be 
kept  almost  perfectly  clean  with  modern  cultivators  and  noth 
ing  else.  Not  only  this,  we  can  break  the  crust  after  every 
rain  so  quickly  and  so  easily  that  we  can  afford  to  keep  the 
ground  loose  and  mellow,  banishimg  all  weeds  at  the  same 
time  that  we  do  the  stirring  ;  and  there  has  never  been  any 
thing  invented,  and  in  my  opinion  there  nevtr  will  be,  to  get 
great  crops  of  any  sort  of  fruit  like  this  mellow,  soft  loose  soil. 
So  far  so  good  ;  but  when  the  runners  put  out  and  begin  to  take 
root,  what  then  ?  Here  is  what  I  learned  of  friend  Young's  in- 
vention :  No  plants  are  allowed  to  take  root  in  the  broad  path 
3  feet  wide  —  that  is,  not  the  first  season,  any  way  ;  but  when 
the  runners  are  just  right,  and  begin  to  take  root,  your  man  or 
boy  is  taken  into  the  patch  with  a  trowel,  and  told  to  •  •_  .  a  g<  od 
plant  about  half  way  between  all  the  old  plants  and  one  in  the 
center  of  the  square.  After  he  has  done  this  he  is  to  cut  off  all 
the  others.  Let  us  have  another  diagram  to  make  this  plain. 
We  have  placed  the  stars  a  little  further  apart,  s  >  you  can  see 
better  what  you  are  doing. 


176          ABC  OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

The  large  stais  represent  the  original  plants,  and  the  small 
ones  the  new  plants  at  the  end  of  the  runners.  This,  you  will 
notice,  makes  a  matted  row,  with  the  bearing  plants  just  9 
inches  apart  each  way.  This  is  a  little  further  apart  than  what 
Terry  directs  ;  but  with  the  strong  thrifty  Enhance,  the  space 


FIG.  3.— HOW  TO  PLACE  THE   RUNNERS. 

is  not  any  too  great.  Each  square  contains  nine  bearing  plants; 
and  each  bearing  plant  should  give  a  great  cluster  of  immense 
berries.  If  your  plantation  is  made  either  in  the  spring  or  fall, 
your  first  crop  will  be  like  cut  Fig.  2  ;  and  it  will  be  an  easy 
matter,  with  the  horse-cultivator  in  the  three-foot  path,  to  keep 
this  matted  row  clean,  for  the  plants  stand  like  hills  of  corn, 
except  that  the  hills  are  only  9  inches  apart,  and  you  can  work 
them  with  a  narrow  hand  cultivator,  or  you  can  use  a  hoe. 
Then  comes  the  question,  How  many  crops  shall  we  get  from 
this  beautiful  plantation  before  plowing  it  up?  Mr.  Young 
thinks  it  pays  to  get  two  crops  ;  and  he  sometimes  gets  three. 
If  you  work  for  a  third  crop,  after  the  first  crop  is  picked, 
clean  out  your  bed  thoroughly,  then  let  the  runners  set  where 
they  choose.  Just  let  the  whole  plantation  grow  up  to  a  thick 
mat  of  vines,  leaving  a  2  or  a  2^  foot  path  for  the  pickers. 
Through  this  path,  of  course,  you  keep  the  cultivator  going. 
After  you  have  secured  the  crop  from  this  solid  matted  row, 
then  turn  strawberries,  weeds,  and  every  thing,  all  under,  the 
very  day  you  do  the  last  picking.  That  is,  you  ought  to  do  it 
the  very  day,  if  you  are  going  to  work  up  to  the  highest  notch 
of  high-pressure  gardening.*  Now,  friend  Young  goes  to  work 
and  plants  strawberries  again,  because  his  whole  ground  is  used 

*  Please  notice,  in  fall  planting  the  routine  would  be  something  like 
this  :  Use  potted  plants  ;  in  fact,  this  is  the  way  friend  Young  always  does, 


summer  you  will  get  a  full  crop— all  large  fine  berries.    Gather  your  fruit; 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE.          177 

constantly  for  strawberries  exclusively,  or  almost  so.  Mean- 
time, however,  he  is  pretty  well  convinced  that  some  other  crop 
should  be  put  on  before  planting  again  for  strawberries  ;  ana, 
by  the  way,  you  can  get  a  good  crop  of  cabbage,  wax  beans, 
early  sweet  corn,  and  ever  so  many  other  things,  after  turning 
under  your  strawberries.  You  may  remember  that,  last  season, 
I  got  a  splendid  crop  of  Freeman  potatoes  after  the  strawber- 
ries were  all  picked. 


DAN   WHITE'S  MODEI,   PATCH   OF  GANDY  STRAWBERRIES. 
From  Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture,  Oct.  75,  1895. 

I  reached  New  London  after  9  o'clock  at  night ;  but  as  tke 
rain  had  spoiled  the  wheeling  I  got  up  at  five  o'clock  next 
morning  and  found  the  way  over  to  our  friend  Dan  White's  just 
as  the  hired  man  was  getting  out  of  the  back  door.  As  soon  as 
Mr.  White  was  informed  that  A.  I.  Root  was  on  the  premises 
he  hustled  on  his  clothing  quickly,  making  some  apologies  for 
getting  up  so  late  on  a  rainy  morning.  After  we  had  shaken 
hands  and  talked  over  matters  a  little  he  commenced  : 

"O  Mr.  Root!  You  are  just  in  time  to  see  the  neatest 
thing  in  the  way  of  a  strawberry -patch  there  is  out.  Just  come 
this  way." 

Mr.  White  marks  out  his  ground  in  the  spring  of  the  year 
so  as  to  put  the  rows  4  feet  apart ;  then  the  plants  are  carefully 
set  18  inches  apart  in  the  row.  As  soon  as  they  send  out  run- 
ners, one  new  plant  is  made  to  grow  half  way  between  the  orig- 
inal plants.  That  leaves  them  9  inches  from  center  to  center. 


DAN   WHITE'S  SYSTEM   OF  GROWING  STRAWBERRIES. 

get  out  the  weeds,  then  let  the  whole  p1antation  have  pretty  much  its  own 
way.  Run  the  cultivator,  of  course,  and  do  as  much  hand-weeding  as  you 
can  afford  to  do,  more  or  less  ;  then  the  third  summer  you  will  have  an 
immense  crop  of  berries  as  before  ;  but  a  great  many  of  them  will  proba- 
bly be  small,  because  the  beds  are  too  much  crowded.  Pick  as  long  as  it 
pays  to  bother  with  them,  then  get  them  under  the  sod,  and  have  your 
field  clean  and  lovely  once  more. 

12 


178          ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

Now  the  next  step  is  to  put  a  plant  9  inches  off  on  each  side  of 
every  plant  in  the  row.  The  diagram  shown  will  make  it  plain. 
The  large  stars  are  the  original  plants,  and  the  small  ones 
where  the  runners  are  put  down. 

You  will  notice  that  the  above  arrangement  makes  the 
plants  9  inches  apart  from  center  to  center  ;  each  old  plant  is 
to  furnish  five  young  ones.  The  row  of  plants  is  18  inches 
wide,  the  path  2^  feet  wide.  Well,  after  you  yet  these  three 
rows,  plants  9  inches  apart,  then  you  are  to  pull  off  every  run- 
ner. Go  over  the  ground  so  often  that  not  a  weed  gets  a  start, 
and  not  another  plant  gets  a  start  except  the  three  rows  as  giv- 
en above.  The  effect  is  to  make  each  plant,  by  the  time  frost 
comes,  a  strong  bunchy  cluster.  It  is  several  years  since  we 
first  practiced  taking  off  all  the  runners  so  as  to  get  strong 
bushy  plants  ;  but  I  am  firmly  convinced  that  in  no  other  way 
can  we  get  such  large  fine  berries. 

The  next  question  is,  What  variety  shall  we  use?  Dan 
White's  model  strawberry- patch  is  Gandys — nothing  else.  You 
know  there  has  been  a  complaint  that  the  Gandy  does  not  bear 
very  much.  Some  large  strong  plants,  for  instance,  will  not 
bear  a  single  berry — at  least,  not  the  first  season.  Well,  friend 
W.  says  it  is  because  the  plant  has  not  grown  to  a  sufficient 
size.  He  says  if  you  take  the  first  Gandy  runners  that  set  in 
June  or  July,  give  them  good  cultivation,  and  stop  off  all  the 
other  runners,  you  will  get  a  plant  by  fall  big  enough  to  give  a 
good  crop  of  fruit  next  year,  and  I  believe  he  is  right.  Our 
Gandys  always  did  better  the  second  season  from  planting. 

This  patch  of  strawberries  on  friend  White's  premises  is,  I 
believe,  the  handsomest,  and  the  most  of  a  model  patch,  of  any 
thing  I  ever  saw  anywhere,  unless  it  is  those  of  Henry  Young, 
Ada,  O.,  that  I  looked  at  last  winter.  There  are  absolutely  no 
weeds  in  it.  There  was  a  plant  wherever  there  should  be  one, 
and  no  extra  ones.  And  I  tell  you,  friends,  it  is  a  grand  thing 
to  have  a  full  stand  in  raising  any  crop.  This  reminds  me  that 
I  forgot  to  say  that  T.  B.  Terry's  potato-fields  were  absolutely  a 
full  stand.  There  were  no  missing  hills — at  least,  I  did  not  see 
any.  But  his  planting  was  all  done  by  hand.  Since  digging 
his  Freemans  he  tells  me  that,  on  his  best  ground,  they  ran  as 
high  as  195  bushels  per  acre.  Now,  for  the  season  we  have  had. 
especially  the  severe  drouth  in  his  locality,  and  for  a  potato  of 
such  fine  quality  as  the  Freeman,  this  is  certainly  doing  pretty 
well,  especially  where  a  whole  farm,  as  it  were,  is  planted  to 
potatoes.  But,  to  come  back  to  friend  White's. 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY    CULTURE.          179 

It  is  a  big  lot  of  work  to  set  each  runner  in  place  by  hand, 
and  to  pinch  off  all  superfluous  runners.  But,  there  is  no  ex- 
cellence without  great  labor.  Friend  W.  had  a  large  crop  of 
strawberries  during  the  past  season,  and  sold  them  all  at  extra 
prices.  Three  or  four  cents  more  per  quart  for  your  berries  will 
easily  pay  for  the  extra  labor ;  and  when  you  get  right  down  to 
it,  a  good  many  times  it  is  about  as  cheap  to  do  any  thing  fight 
as  to  let  it  go,  or  to  get  out  the  weeds  by  fits  and  starts  after 
they  have  doce  a  big  lot  of  damage.  He  placed  his  berries 
right  in  the  market,  side  by  side  with  other  berries  that  were 
selling  at  5  and  6  cents.  When  the  dealers  protested  about  his 
asking  10  and  12  for  his  he  replied  : 

"You  need  not  buy  them  at  all,  my  friend,  unless  you  have 
a  mind  to.  Set  them  right  out  here  on  the  walk,  put  a  tag  on 
them,  stating  the  price,  and  I  will  allow  you  a  commission  for 
selling." 

It  the  above  conversation  took  place  on  the  sidewalk,  where 
it  usually  does,  about  this  time  somebody  going  by  wanted 
some  of  the  berries.  Then  somebody  else  wanted  some  more  ; 
and  pretty  soon  the  dealer  says,  "  Here,  Mr.  White,  I  will  take 
them  at  your  price."  Now,  this  is  the  same  thing  Terry  de- 
scribes in  his  strawberry-book.  It  can  be  done  every  time  when 
you  have  something  away  ahead  of  the  general  run  in  the  mar- 
ket. Terry  accomplished  the  matter  of  getting  his  plants  so  as 
to  give  each  one  plenty  of  room,  by  cutting  out  the  surplus 
plants  in  the  fall.  Friend  White's  plan  is  more  work,  but  I 
think  it  is  a  little  ahead,  because  the  surplus  plants  are  out  be- 
fore they  get  started.  And  then,  what  a  pleasure  to  show  to 
your  friends — I  do  not  mean  the  berries — I  mean  the  plants  and 
the  strawberry -garden  !  I  should  judge  friend  W.  has  some- 
thing like  a  quarter  of  an  acre  close  by  his  dwelling,  managed 
on  this  high-pressure  principle. 

The  summer  after  the  above  was  written  we  received  the 
following  from  friend  White,  on  a  postal  card  : 

The  Gaudies  are  giving  72  quarts  each  morning,  with  prospects  of  keep- 
ing it  up  the  week  out.  DAN  WHITE. 
New  Condon,  O.,  June  16  1896. 


180          ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 


"THE   BEST  STRAWBERRY    IN  THE   WORI,D." 
From  Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture,  July  i,  1896. 

In  our  issue  for  June  15  we  were  inclined  to  give  the  Jessie 
the  palm  for  being  the  best  strawberry  if  we  could  have  only 
one  of  all  that  are  before  the  world  now.  Later  on  we  were  in- 
clined to  change  our  decision  and  give  our  preference  to  the 
Parker  Earle.  Well,  just  after  our  last  issue  had  gone  to  press, 
I  think  it  was  June  12,  I  happened  to  remark  to  the  wife  of  a 
neighbor  that  our  nice  strawberries  were  all  gone.  I  was  just 
on  my  way  over  to  the  house  to  take  my  before  dinner  nap. 
After  waking  up  and  rubbing  my  eyes,  the  first  thing  that  met 
my  gaze  was  a  heaping  quart  box  of  strawberries — the  largest 
berries — that  is,  a  whole  quart  of  them — that  I  perhaps  ever 
saw  before  in  my  life.  Mrs.  Root  informed  me  that  they  were 
sent  over  by  Mr.  Horn.  She  said  the  boy  called  them  "  Great 
something,"  she  could  not  exactly  remember  what  it  was. 

"Great   American?"  said   I,  as   I   picked   up  one   of  the 
great  awkward  chunks  of  delicious  fruit  and  sampled  it. 
11  Oh,  yes  !  that  is  it— Great  American." 

It  was  not  long  before  I  was  over  to  my  neighbor's,  on  my 
wheel.  Now,  his  strawberry -patch  is  not  over  a  hundred  rods 
from  my  own  down  on  the  creek  bottom  ;  and  yet  he  has  beat- 
en me  all  to  pieces — at  least  on  late  strawberries.  Why,  if 
somebody  had  exhibited  that  box  of  berries,  and  had  offered 
me  a  hundred  plants  of  the  same  for  a  five  dollar  bill,  I  should 
have  handed  over  the  bill  "  quicker'n  a  wink."  Best  of  all, 
these  berries  were  grown  on  soil  precisely  like  my  own  ;  and 
this  yield  of  enormous  berries  was  after  even  the  Parker  Earle 
was  almost  done  fruiting.  The  bed  had  been  neglected,  and 
the  foliage  was  so  thick  you  could  not  see  a  berry  until  the 
leaves  were  parted.  The  great  leaf-stems  were  toward  a  foot 
high  or  more,  and  the  fruit  was  tangled  in  the  foliage.  There 
was  such  a  tremendous  growth  of  plants  covering  the  whole 
surface  of  the  ground  that  the  heaviest  storm  could  rot  soil  the 
berries  a  particle.  Very  likely  this  great  mass  of  foliage  was 
one  reason  for  the  season  being  Leld  back,  as  the  sun  could  not 
get  at  them. 

Now,  I  have  heard  of  the  Great  American  before.  In  fact, 
some  years  ago  I  gave  it  a  partial  test ;  but  my  plants  may  not 
have  been  true  to  name.  Neighbor  Horn  sells  his  berries  at  the 
groceries.  He  said  the  first  pickings  brought  6 ]^  cts. ;  then  8 


ABC  OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.          181 

and  then  9.  But  the  last  which  he  sold  for  9,  he  said  the  grocer 
retailed  out  at  12  cts.  for  every  quart  of  them  before  the  boy 
left  the  store.  The  fruit  is  shaped  very  much  like  the  Sharp- 
less.  You  rembember  when  I  first  commenced  raising  the 
Sharpless  I  said  the  berries  looked  like  "  chunks  of  pudding." 
Well,  that  describes  the  Great  American  exactly.  In  point  of 
flavor  they  are  exactly  like  the  Sharpless,  as  nearly  as  I  can  re- 
member. 

I  had  been  thinking  I  could  not  eat  strawberries,  especially 
for  supper.  When  Mrs  Root  placed  the  heaping  saucer  of 
Great  Americans  close  to  my  plate  at  suppertime  I  felt  almost 
sure,  both  from  looks  and  taste,  that  they  would  not  hurt  me, 
and  they  didn't.  I  suppose  they  are  a  very  large  per  cent  wa- 
ter ;  but  when  fully  ripened  they  have  a  delicious  pineapple 
flavor  that  is  most  fascinating.  Our  Mr.  Turner,  you  know, 
has  been  for  years  at  the  Ohio  Experiment  Station,  Columbus, 
where  they  test  every  thing  in  this  line.  Said  I  : 

"  Mr.  Turner,  you  people,  of  course,  tested  the  Great  Amer- 
ican with  other  strawberries  ?  Now,  will  you  please  tell  me 
why  it  has  not  made  more  of  a  stir  in  the  world  ?  " 

He  replied  in  just  two  words  : 

"Too  soft;"  and  that  tells  the  story  exactly.  If  fully 
ripened  they  certainly  would  not  stand  shipping  ;  but  for  home 
use,  or  for  selling  in  the  way  we  do,  picking  the  berries  between 
4  and  6  o'clock,  and  selling  to  consumers  before  noon,  I  believe 
I  should  call  them  the  "  best  berry  in  the  world  " — at  least,  the 
best  late  berry.  Very  likely  the  berry  does  not  ordinarily  pro- 
duce as  many  quarts  per  acre  as  the  Haverland,  Parker  Earle, 
Bubach,  and  some  others  ;  but  managed  in  the  way  I  found 
these,  the  yield  was  certainly  very  satisfactory  ;  and  it  does  not 
take  any  time  at  all  to  pick  the  fruit. 

By  the  way,  why  can't  this  berry  be  profitably  grown  and 
let  it  cover  the  ground  entirely,  having  no  paths,  no  weeds,  no 
management  at  all  ?  Make  the  ground  exceedingly  rich  ;  keep 
out  every  weed  until  the  plants  get  complete  possession,  as  in 
the  new  celery  culture,  and  then  just  let  the  whole  thing  take 
care  of  itself.  Grown  in  this  way  they  do  not  need  any  mulch- 
ing, and  I  do  not  believe  the  plant  would  ever  be  thrown  out 
by  frost ;  neither  would  a  late  frost  injure  the  blossoms,  for  two 
reasons — the  bloom  is  very  late,*  and  the  immense  foliage 
wo^ld  protect  it.  But  I  tell  you,  you  would  need  to  have  some 


*  The  blossoms  are  perfect,  so  no  other  variety  is  needed  near  them. 


182          ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

careful  pickers.  The  average  boy  would  be  sure  to  set  his  foot 
right  square  on  one  of  these  immense  bunches  of  huge  berries. 

Now,  mind  you,  the  Great  American  will  never  be  popu- 
lar as  an  all-purpose  berry,  because  it  is  "  too  soft  ;  "  and  dur- 
ing very  wet  seasons  they  might,  like  the  Bubach,  rot  before 
ripening.  But  for  home  use,  or  for  selling  right  around  among 
your  neighbors,  I  believe  I  should  call  it  one  of  the  best. 

Before  the  sun  went  down  that  night  I  had  some  of  our 
best  creek-bottom  ground  prepared  ;  and  before  another  day 
had  past,  some  Great  Americans  were  taken  up  with  a  lot  of 
soil  adhering  to  the  roots,  and  transferred  to  our  rich  ground. 
Of  course,  we  had  to  take  old  plants,  because  they  have  not 
commenced  to  send  out  runners  yet ;  but  we  are  going  to  make 
plants  this  fall,  and  get  out  a  plantation  that  will  bear  fruit 
next  year — you  see  if  we  don't. 

The  above  berry,  described  as  the  Great  American,  we  de- 
cided later  on  was  the  Sharplecs.  The  old  plants  I  took  up 
while  they  were  in  full  bearing,  had  the  fruit  all  picked  off,  and 
in  a  little  time  they  sent  out  runners.  These  runners  were  ta- 
ken care  of,  and  gave  a  crop  of  immense  berries  the  very  next 
season,  not  quite  as  large,  however,  as  those  in  the  bed  of  my 
neighbor  ;  and  although  I  have  tried  almost  every  year  since 
to  get  such  a  crop  as  they  had,  with  the  best  of  care  and  with- 
out any  care  at  all,  I  have  not  succeeded.  Perhaps  the  season 
has  not  been  just  right  for  that  method  of  treatment,  and  may 
be  his  ground  is  peculiarly  fitted  for  it.  The  bed  was  not  a  very 
large  one,  but  the  paths  were  all  grown  up  full  of  plants,  so 
there  were  no  paths  at  all.  The  leaves  were  immense  in  size, 
and  the  berries  were  borne  on  long  stems.  I  presume  the  plants 
stood  from  six  to  ten  inches  apart  in  this  bed.  There  had  been 
a  big  crop  of  fruit  on  it  the  year  before,  and  then  it  was  allow- 
ed to  stand,  thinking  it  might  give  part  of  a  crop  another  year. 
I  think  we  paid  him  10  cts.  a  quart  for  the  remainder  of  the 
crop  after  I  found  the  bed.  We  sold  them  without  trouble  for 
14  to  15  cts.  on  account  of  the  size  of  the  fruit  ;  and  that  was 
when  common  berries  were  selling  from  5  to  10  cts.  When 
every  thing  is  favorable  I  still  consider  the  Sharpless  one  of  the 


ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE.          183 

best  if  not  the  best  strawberry  in   the  world,  especially  for  my 
own  eating. 


FIRMING  THE;  GROUND  WHERE  YOU  WANT  TO  GROW  CHOICE 
VARIETIES  OF  STRAWBERRIES,  AND  WHERE  YOU  WANT 

TO  GET  BERRIES    OF    IMMENSE  SIZE. 
Front  Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture,  Sept.  75,  1896. 

Somehow  or  other  it  seems  almost  impossible  for  me  to 
take  a  wheelride  twenty  miles  from  home  without  getting  lost. 
Daring  this  last  trip  I  took  a  back  road  because  it  happened  to 
be  better  ;  but  it  took  me  through  a  new  part  of  the  country. 
There  were  no  guide  boards,  and  pretty  soon  I  was  at  a  loss  to 
know  which  way  to  turn  to  strike  T.  B.  Terry's.  I  took  the 
wrong  road,  as  it  transpired,  and  by  and  by  I  was  astonished  to 
find  myself  close  to  the  home  of  Matthew  Crawford.  Just  as 
soon  as  he  saw  me  and  my  wheel  he  expressed  his  pleasure  by 
saying  he  had  something  special  he  wanted  me  to  see.  Friend 
C.  has  little  beds  for  starting  strawberries,  and  for  his  potted 
plants,  much  like  my  own,  except  that  they  are  only  4  feet 
wide.  He  started  this  way,  and  has  therefore  got  all  his  beds 
made  this  width.  Instead  of  having  them  in  a  compact  group 
he  has  them  here  and  there  in  different  points  all  around  his 
house.  For  potted  plants  waiting  for  orders  he  plunges  them 
into  beds  up  to  the  brim,  and  then  shades  them  with  frames 
covered  with  cotton  cloth  until  they  get  "  weaned  "  after  being 
detached  from  the  mother-plant.  Then  choice  varieties  are 
planted  out  in  these  same  beds,  making  two  rows  lengthwise  of 
the  bed.  These  rows  are  about  2  feet  apart,  and  the  plants 
stand  6  inches  apart  in  the  row.  By  keeping  the  runners  pinch- 
ed off  he 'gets  enormous  berries  in  these  rich  specially  prepared 
beds. 

We  soon  came  to  a  bed  containing  about  thirty  plants. 
These  plants  had  a  little  more  room,  perhaps  a  foot  apart.  As 
soon  as  I  saw  them  I  raised  my  hands  in  surprise,  for  they  were 
the  finest-looking,  rankest-growing  strawberry-plants  I  ever 
saw  in  my  life.  The  runners  that  were  just  taking  root  here 
and  there  were  almost  the  size  of  leadpencils ;  and  the  colors 
of  these  great  runners  were  almost  as  brilliant  as  the  colors  of 
a  ripening  peach. 

"  Well,  I  do  declare  !  Friend  C.,  is  this  a  new  variety  that 
gives  this  enormous  growth,  or  is  it  some  special  treatment?  " 


184          ABC  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE. 

*'Mr.  Root,  the  wonderful  growth  you  see  is  due  both  to 
the  variety  and  treatment.  The  plants  are  the  'Nick  Ohmer,' 
and  you  have  four  of  them  already.  The  special  treatment  is 
this  :  There  is  quite  a  quantity  of  rich  old  compost  spaded  un- 
der the  surface  of  the  soil ;  but  it  is  not  the  compost  alone. 
After  preparing  the  bed  I  stamped  it  down  as  hard  as  I  could 
tramp  the  mellow  ground  ;  then  I  afterward  pounded  it  as  I 
would  pound  the  ground  around  a  post,  and  this  is  the  result." 

"  Now,  old  friend,  you  have  missed  quite  a  little  specula- 
tion. Had  you  showed  me  these  plants,  and  told  me  they  were 
a  new  variety  just  out,  and  were  worth  $1  00  a  piece,  I  would 
have  taken  half  a  dozen,  without  a  moment's  hesitation.  As  it 
is,  I  want  to  say  to  you  that  the  sight  of  this  bed  has  been 
worth  my  whole  hard  ride  of  25  miles  over  the  hills  this  morn- 
ing." 

You  see,  this  is  nothing  particularly  new  after  all.  T.  B. 
Terry  and  others  fine  up  their  wheat  ground  on  the  surface  un- 
til every  lump  is  pulverized  —  until  the  ground  is  like  the  dust 
in  the  road,  in  fact.  After  having  done  this  the  soil  is  packed 
down  hard  with  a  heavy  land-roller.  This  is  the  viay  they  get 
such  enormous  crops  of  wheat.  Now,  mind  you,  this  can  be 
done  only  when  the  soil  is  very  dry;  and  it  is  especially  needed 
on  light  sandy  soils  like  friend  Crawford's,  or  any  soil  where  a 
great  amount  of  stable  manure  has  been  applied.  As  soon  as 
it  was  explained  to  me  I  understood  exactly  why  strawberries 
do  not  do  well  at  this  time  of  year  in  my  plant-beds  where  the 
soil  is  almost  half  stable  manure. 

After  the  above  I  went  home  and  tested  this  firming  mat- 
ter most  thoroughly  on  a  great  variety  of  plants,  especially  our 
choice  ones.  It  has  always  given  wonderful  results,  both  in 
variety  and  fruit ;  but  we  use  it  in  our  plant  beds  only  where 
there  was  an  excess  of  old  manure.  I  do  not  know  how  it 
would  work  in  field  culture.  If  it  answers  as  well  as  it  does  in 
our  rich  beds,  the  ground  can  probably  be  firmed  with  a  very 
heavy  roller  loaded  down,  drawn  by  horses.  A  strawberry- 
grower  of  much  experience  once  told  me  that  my  old  plants, 
close  by  a  path  where  the  ground  had  been  tramped  down  hard 
and  solid  by  many  feet,  would  stand  over  winter,  without  the 
plants  heaving  out,  better  than  in  soft  ground,  and  that  has 
proved  to  be  the  case. 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE.          185 


THE  STRAWBERRY   INDUSTRY   AT  BARNESVII^E,   OHIO. 

From  Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture,  June  75,  1897. 

For  several  years  I  have  been  thinking  I  should  like  to  vis- 
it Barnesville,  and  see  how  they  manage  where  they  grow  straw- 
berries by  the  carload  and  trainload,  and  also  see  what  varieties, 
where  they  plant  whole  farms  to  strawberries.  Well,  last  Sat- 
urday evening  I  received  the  card  below  : 

Dear  Friend  Root : — The  strawberries  are  ripening  now,  rather  late.  I 
think  the  first  of  next  week  would  be  a  good  time  to  visit  the  patches.  I 
shall  be  pleased  to  show  thee  around.  WM.  I,.  ASHTON. 

^Barnesville,  O.,  June  4. 

I  looked  up  the  state  of  things  on  the  new  wheel-book  sent 
out  by  the  L,.  A.  W.,  and  found  that  our  Medina  rail  way  strikes 
a  station  in  Belmont  Co.  called  Bannock,  where  a  limestone 
pike  goes  down  to  the  old  national  pike  ;  and  by  making  a 
wheelride  of  toward  20  miles  over  these  stone  pikes  I  found  I 
could  reach  Barnesville  without  any  waiting.  I  will  not  stop 
to  tell  you  about  my  wheelride,  but  only  say  that  I  met  with 
about  the  usual  number  of  adventures  In  fact,  I  am  bearing 
the  scars  of  some  of  them  while  I  wrre. 

I  was  warmly  welcomed  by  our  Quaker  friend  and  his  boys, 
for  he  proved  to  be  the  superintendent  of  the  Quaker  school,  a 
mile  out  from  Barnesville.  Near  by  was  one  of  the  strawber- 
ry-fields ;  and  my  first  introduction  to  the  strawberry-grower 
brought  back  a  host  of  memories  belonging  to  forty  years  ago 
or  more.  Shall  I  tell  you  why  ?  Well,  it  was  because  the  in- 
troduction was  something  like  this  : 

"  Brother  Smith,  this  is  Amos  Root.  Brother  Root,  I  make 
thee  acquainted  with  Solomon  Smith." 

"  Amos  Root !  "  Away  back  in  my  boyhood,  when  I  was 
so  bashful  that  I  wanted  to  slip  around  out  of  sight  rather  than 
meet  strangers,  they  used  to  call  me  "  Amos  Root ;  "  and  some- 
how or  other  it  did  my  heart  good  to  be  called  by  that  old  fa- 
miliar name.  It  seemed  to  say  to  me,  "  You  are  at  home,  and 
among  friends — yes,  friends  indeed  ;"  and  it  seemed  to  strip 
off  business  and  business  cares.  Just  the  very  words  made  me 
feel  that  I  was  a  boy  again — a  quiet,  backward,  awkward  boy  ; 
and  it  made  me  feel,  for  just  a  little  time,  loose  from  all  busi- 
ness entanglements  and  complications.  I  do  not  know  but  I 
drew  a  long  breath  of  relief.  "A.  I.  Root"  does  not  sound 
boyish  ;  neither  does  "The  A.  I.  Root  Co."  And,  oh  I  do  so 
love  to  be  a  boy  once  more  when  I  get  away  off  with  my  wheel  ! 


186          ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

My  first  glimpse  was  of  a  patch  of  berries  on  a  southern 
slope  ;  and,  by  the  way,  there  are  slopes  and  nothing  but 
"slopes"  around  Barnesville  —  every  thing  slopes — garden- 
patches,  whole  farms  ;  but,  notwithstanding,  I  believe  Belmont 
Co.  is  the  most  thrifty  and  the  finest-looking  agricultural  coun- 
ty I  ever  saw  anywhere  in  all  my  travels.  Every  bit  of  ground 
is  covered  with  something  green  at  this  time  of  the  year.  No 
matter  how  steep  the  hillsides,  nor  how  high  their  summits, 
something  is  growing.  The  forests  have  been  mostly  cleared 
away,  and  cultivated  fields — that  is,  fields  over  the  hilltops  and 
down  in  the  valleys — take  their  places. 

The  strawberries  are  grown  in  matted  rows,  just  about  ac- 
cording to  Terry's  directions.  The  ground  was  well  mulched 
with  straw  in  the  fall,  and  there  has  been  no  cultivation  since, 
except  to  pull  the  weeds ;  and  just  now  they  do  not  even  do 
that  very  much,  because  the  weed  brings  up  a  lot  of  dirt,  and 
that  is  pretty  sure  to  make  the  berries  gritty. 

The  first  row  I  struck  was  our  old  friend  Warfield,  that  I 
have  just  been  talking  about ;  but  the  Warfield  berries  were 
larger  than  we  have  ever  grown  them  here  in  Medina  Co.  This 
is  owing  to  having  the  plants  not  too  thick  in  the  rows,  to  the 
rich  gravelly  loam  on  the  hills,  and  to  the  great  amount  of  sta- 
ble manure  or  other  fertilizer  used.  Almost  every  grower  I 
visited,  however,  threatens  to  stop  putting  stable  manure  on 
strawberries,  on  account  of  the  weed  seeds.  Some  are  using 
phosphates  ;  but  the  greater  number,  I  think,  are  using  bone 
dust  and  ashes,  or  some  other  preparation  of  potash,  in  place 
of  stable  manure. 

I  felt  anxious  to  know  how  many  of  the  varieties  we  have 
been  advising  and  recommending  were  flourishing  there  ;  and 
my  good  friend  Ash  ton  smiled  when  Bro.  Smith  told  us  that 
one  of  their  best  berries  was  the  Warfield.  Now,  they  have 
around  Barnesville  the  very  berries  we  have  settled  down  on, 
and  but  only  a  few  other  kinds.  The  Jessie  has  been  partially 
dropped,  although  a  few  growers  still  stick  to  it ;  and  the  same 
with  the  Parker  Earle.  Michel's  Early  they  grow  for  extra 
early,  but  for  no  other  reason.  Bubach  takes  the  lead  for  a 
large  strawberry.  Where  Bubachs  are  grown  with  the  plants 
far  enough  apart,  so  as  to  have  plenty  of  room,  they  select 
choice  specimens  for  fancy  city  trade.  Such  berries  bring  from 
25  to  40  cts.  a  quart.  Where  you  can  get,  say,  ten  berries  that 
will  fill  a  quart  basket,  it  is  not  much  trouble  to  find  a  purchas- 
er for  them,  among  traveling  people  on  the  railways,  at  from  30 
to  40  cts. 


A  B  C  OF   STRAWBERRY    CULTURE.          187 

Brandywine  is  just  beginning  to  attract  considerable  atten- 
tion. It  does  not  bear  as  many  berries  as  the  Bubach,  perhaps, 
but  they  are  so  firm  they  can  be  handled  and  shipped  almost 
like  potatoes,  even  when  they  are  well  colored  all  over.  This 
is  certainly  a  wonderful  thing  in  its  favor.  The  Marshall  has 
been  grown  to  some  extent,  but  I  believe  it  does  not  produce 
berries  enough  for  field  culture,  as  a  general  thing. 

One  of  the  largest  berry-farms  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Barnesville  is  managed  by  the  Cowan  brothers,  one  of  them 
having  over  100  acres  devoted  to  small  fruits,  and,  if  I  am  cor- 
rect, something  like  40  acres  entirely  in  strawberries.  We  were 
a  little  surprised  to  find  the  proprietor  a  colored  man  ;  and  it 
was  a  surprise  indeed  to  see  how  he  was  making  berries  grow 
on  every  foot  of  the  land,  hilltop  and  valley.  Even  in  the  ra- 
vine back  of  his  house,  where  it  was  about  as  steep  as  the  roof 
of  a  house,  great  rank  luxuriant  strawberries  were  growing  and 
bearing  there.  Mr.  Cowan  says  the  side  of  the  hill  is  much 
better  for  strawberries  than  the  extreme  top.  He  thinks  this  is 
much  owing  to  the  cold  winds  that  strike  the  summit,  while 
the  berries  part  way  down,  especially  where  the  hill  slopes  to 
the  southeast,  are  protected  from  the  cold  northwest  winds.  It 
was  indeed  amusing  to  see  the  great  clusters  hanging  over  and 
spread  out  on  the  straw  mulching  on  the  down-hill  side  of  each 
row.  The  Haverland,  you  know,  is  remarkable  for  its  long 
stems,  and  these  were  literally  piled  up  in  heaps.  The  day  be- 
fore our  visit,  they  had  picked  and  shipped  50  bushels. 

Mr.  Cowan  objects,  like  the  rest,  to  stable  manure  for  a 
mulch,  especially  that  which  comes  from  the  livery-stables  in 
town.  I  do  not  know  just  why  manure  from  livery-stables 
should  contain  so  many  weed  seeds,  but  perhaps  it  is  because 
they  have  to  purchase  large  quantities  of  hay  from  all  sorts  of 
farmers.  A  man  who  has  a  horse  and  cow  of  his  own,  or  who 
grows  the  feed  for  his  stock,  would  not  be  so  likely  to  risk  tak- 
ing weeds  on  to  his  premises.  Several  men  told  me  they  had 
got  their  ground  filled  with  kinds  of  weeds  they  had  never 
seen  on  their  premises  until  they  brought  them  in  by  purchas- 
ing stable  manure  for  their  berries.  Now,  this  is  indeed  a  se- 
rious matter.  Another  source  of  weed  seeds  is  the  straw  mulch- 
ing put  under  the  berries  to  keep  them  clean.  The  small  quan- 
tity of  grain  left  in  the  straw  makes  trouble,  but  the  trouble  is 
not  as  bad  as  with  pernicious  weeds.  The  prickly  lettuce  is  one 
of  the  worst,  because  it  will  mature  seed,  and  send  it  flying 
about  even  while  the  berries  are  fruiting. 

Permit  me  to  mention  here  that  Mr.  Cowan  was  using  very 


188          ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY    CULTURE. 

successfully  over  a  part  of  one  of  his  fields  the  refuse  from  a 
cane  mill  near  by.  It  answen  the  purpose  perfectly,  contains 
no  weed  seeds  whatever,  and  he  said  the  only  objection  in  his 
case  was  the  distance  they  were  obliged  to  go  for  it.  In  their 
work  they  use  two  tons  of  straw  per  acre,  or  its  equivalent  in 
something  else.  This,  of  course,  is  for  mulching,  to  protect 
the  plants  from  heaving  out  in  the  winter,  and  to  keep  the  ber- 
ries out  of  the  dirt  in  fruiting-time. 

The  berries  grown  on  this  piece  of  40  acres  are  mostly  those 
I  have  mentioned.  Warfield,  Haverland,  and  Bubach  are  sure 
to  be  found  ;  then  Parker  Earle,  Jessie,  and  Michel's  Early  are 
grown  more  or  less. 

I  asked  Mr.  Cowan  how  often  he  shipped  berries  that  sold 
so  low  as  to  pay  for  only  the  packages,  express  charges,  and 
cost  of  picking.  He  said  he  had  never  come  out  quite  as  badly 
as  that,  even  on  a  single  bushel,  although  he  had  heard  of  oth- 
ers who  had  to  advance  money,  besides  the  value  of  the  ber- 
ries, to  pay  the  expense  of  shipping  and  marketing.  I  was 
somewhat  surprised  at  this  ;  but  when  I  became  better  acquaint- 
ed with  the  man  I  found  that  he  was  unusually  bright  and 
wideawake.  He  is  a  hard  worker  himself,  and  he  keeps  right 
along  with  his  help,  which,  if  I  am  correct,  is  mostly  colored 
people. 

There  is  a  factory  at  Barnesville  for  making  crates  and 
boxes  for  berry-growers  ;  and  they  have  certainly  got  the  prices 
down  very  low.  The  cheap  gift  crates  to  hold  one  bushel,  or 
32  one-quart  boxes,  are  furnished  at  Barnesville,  nailed  up,  for 
only!2^cts.;  and  as  the  nailed  up  quart  boxes  are  sold  for 
$3  50  psr  1000,  the  whole  expense  of  a  package  for  a  bushel  of 
berries  is  only  about  23  cts. 

As  we  prepared  to  take  our  leave  he  informed  me  that, 
when  he  started  in  the  berry  business  some  years  ago,  he  had 
only  about  $200  or  $300  to  make  a  payment  on  the  farm.  The 
place  was  already  pretty  heavily  mortgaged.  It  was  only  a 
short  time  ago  that  the  last  dollar  of  the  mortgage  was  paid  ; 
and  now  he  can  breathe  a  little  easier  while  he  plans  to  make 
every  yard  of  ground  produce  fruit  of  some  kind.  Besides  the 
strawberries  he  has  considerable  ground  devoted  to  currants 
and  gooseberries,  and  these  have  always  paid  him  well.  In- 
stead of  paving  large  sums  of  money  to  nurserymen  for  plants, 
he  grows  his  own,  makes  cuttings  from  the  currants  and  goose- 
berries, and  has  a  very  pretty  little  nursery  where  they  are  cul- 
tivated and  cared  for  until  they  are  ready  to  go  out  into  the 
field. 


ABC  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE.          189 

When  I  got  out  on  the  national  pike  I  called  on  two  more 
strawberry-growers.  One  of  them  told  me  how  he  had  been 
growing  berries  a  great  many  years,  but  had  just  made  a  dis- 
covery— in  fact,  had  just  got  his  eyes  open  so  as  to  know  how 
to  grow  berries  profitably.  He  took  me  down  a  side  hill  to 
show  me  his  new  invention — another  patch  of  Bubachs  fertiliz- 
ed with  our  old  friend  Sharpless ;  and,  oh  such  berries  !  not 
only  in  size,  but  in  luscious  sweetness  ;  and  I  actually  believe  I 
would  rather  have  the  Sharpless  berry  for  my  own  eating  than 
any  other  berry  grown.  But,  let  us  get  to  the  new  invention. 

The  plants  were  all  put  out  last  fall ;  and  neither  the  Sharp- 
less  nor  the  Bubach  had  produced  a  very  thick  matted  row.  In 
fact,  in  some  places  there  were  not  enough  plants  ;  but  they 
had  had  good  care,  and  each  plant  had  an  abundance  of  room 
so  that  it  was  growing  great  whoppers,  even  if  there  were  not 
so  many  of  them.  This  man  sells  the  greater  part  of  his  crop 
by  sorting  out  the  largest  ones  and  selling  them  at  fancy  prices. 
It  is  almost  like  growing  berries  in  hills.  The  runners  are  kept 
off,  or  mostly  off,  as  soon  as  a  sufficient  stand  is  secured  for 
large  berries.  He  does  not  get  as  many  bushels  per  acre,  but 
he  gets  better  prices  for  what  he  does  grow.  A  neighbor  near 
him  was  managing  a  plantation  a  good  deal  the  same  way,  but 
he  was  using  the  Brandy  wine.  Here  again  we  had  great  berries 
that  could  be  tumbled  about  like  potatoes,  while  the  Bubachs 
in  the  same  patch  would  be,  many  of  them,  too  soft  to  handle 
before  they  were  fully  ripe. 


A  NEW  TRANSPI/ANTI  NO-MACHINE. 

Something  like  two  years  ago  a  transplanting-machine  was 
sent  to  Matthew  Crawford,  but  tor  some  reason  or  other  he  for- 
warded it  on  to  me,  asking  me  to  test  and  report.  On  account 
of  many  cares,  and  other  things  to  be  looked  after  and  tested, 
the  little  machine  was  laid  under  my  desk  until  well  along  into 
the  season  before  I  took  the  trouble  to  take  it  out  and  try  it. 
Another  thing,  I  have  tested  so  many  machines  that  did  not 
seem  to  be  as  convenient  as  some  we  already  had  in  use,  I  was 
a  little  skeptical  about  it  ;  but  when  I  did  get  hold  of  it  I  was 
agreeably  surprised  to  find  that  I  could  in  a  twinkling  move 
any  small  plant  to  another  location  so  quickly  and  so  safely 
that  it  seemed  almost  as  if  it  must  be  some  sleight-of-hand  per- 
formance. 


190          ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE 

The  drawing  will  make  the  machine  plain,  almost  without 
any  particular  explanation.  You  hold  it  in  both  hands,  and 
with  an  auger-like  motion  back  and  forth  you  set  the  steel  tube, 
No.  1,  over  the  plant.  It  is  pressed  down  till  it  will  bring  up 
the  plant,  roots  and  all,  in  a  lump  of  dirt  like  No.  2.  It  is  not 
advisable  to  push  it  any  further  down  than  is  necessary  to  get 
all  the  roots.  In  fact,  if  the  tap-root  is  broken  off,  with  most 
plants  they  will  do  just  as  well. 


MACHINE   FOR   TRANSPLANTING   SMAI,!,  PLANTS. 

After  the  plant  is  out  of  the  ground  in  its  ball  of  earth,  you 
place  your  two  thumbs  on  the  lever  at  the  top  of  the  machine, 
and  push  down,  releasing  the  ball  of  earth.  With  strawberries 
you  can  load  these  balls  into  a  wheelbarrow,  or  with  appropri- 
ate trays  you  can  load  them  into  a  wagon.  Fit  your  ground 
nicely,  as  described  in  our  book  on  strawberry  culture  ;  mark 
it  out  according  to  your  notion,  then  with  the  transplan ting- 
machine  make  holes  to  drop  your  "potted  plants"  into,  for 
they  are  potted  plants,  to  all  intents  and  purposes. 

Some  time  in  the  fore  part  of  April  we  put  out  with  this 
machine  several  thousand  strawberry-plants,  including  all  the 
different  varieties  ;  and  .if  there  is  one  failure  in  the  whole  lot, 
I  have  not  seen  it.  Almost  any  boy,  with  a  little  instruction, 
will  operate  it  nicely  ;  and  with  any  soil  that  I  have  yet  used  it 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY   GUI/TURK.          191 

on,  the  dirt,  if  wet  enough,  will  hold  around  the  plant  so  it  can 
be  handled.  The  nicest  way,  in  my  opinion,  is  to  grow  your 
plants  in  a  plant-bed  made  up  of  exceedingly  rich  compost  ; 
then  you  carry  enough  of  this  compost  out  to  the  field  to  give 
your  plants  a  big  start,  even  if  the  ground  is  comparatively 
poor.  We  have  not  yet  tried  shipping  plants  by  express,  taken 
up  in  this  way  ;  but  by  breaking  off  a  part  of  the  ball  of  earth, 
so  as  to  decrease  the  weight  as  much  as  possible,  and  yet  have 
enough  left  to  keep  the  roots  perfectly,  then  packing  these  balls 
of  earth  with  sphagnum  moss,  I  think  valuable  plants  could  be 
sent  this  way  with  profit.  The  weight  of  the  adhering  soil 
would,  of  course,  be  a  serious  objection  to  sending  any  plants 
in  this  way  unless  it  were  a  small  number  of  something  exceed- 
ingly valuable.  Sometimes  it  seems  desirable  to  swap  places 
with  certain  valuable  plants.  With  the  above  machine  this  can 
be  done  in  a  twinkling  ;  and  even  the  plants  that  have  been 
transplanted  do  not  seem  to  know  they  have  been  swapped. 
The  machine  has  a  cylinder  3  inches  in  diameter  and  5  inches 
in  length.  The  whole  thing  amounts  to  the  same  thing  as  our 
transplanting  tubes  ;  but  you  have  no  tin  tubes  at  all  to  pick 
up  and  put  away.  The  machine  itself  does  the  whole  business. 

Perhaps  I  should  explain  that  cylinder  No.  1  is  made  of 
the  very  best  crucible  steel ;  and  while  in  use  it  is  as  bright  as 
a  polished  saw-blade. 

It  has  now  been  tested  by  many  competent  men,  and  there 
is  but  one  verdict  in  regard  to  it — it  is  away  ahead  of  any  other 
transplanting-arrangement  of  the  kind  that  has  ever  been 
brought  before  the  public. 

The  little  plant  you  see  in  the  picture  is  a  basswocd- seed- 
ling. One  day  when  one  of  our  small  boys  was  put  of  a  job  I 
told  him  to  mark  out  one  of  our  plant-beds  with  one  of  our 
markers,  then  pick  up  the  basswocd- seedlings  all  over  the  gar- 
den, wherever  he  could  find  them,  and  put  them  in  the  bed. 
No.  2  shows  one  of  the  basswood-seedlings  just  as  we  picked 
them  up.  In  a  little  while  he  had  a  bed  of  300  nice  ones.  Acd 
this  reminds  me  that  we  have  pretty  much  failed  in  getting 
basswoods  to  grow  where  we  planted  seeds  ;  but  wherever  we 
are  making  up  beds  near  the  basswood-trees,  these  little  seed- 
lings come  up  plentifully.  Under  one  small  basswocd-tree  we 
picked  out  over  forty  plants. 

I  may  add  that,  since  1897,  we  have  manufactured  and  sold 
a  large  number  of  these  machines,  and  they  have  now  come  to 


192  ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

be  a  standard  tool  with  many  strawberry-growers  ;  in  fact,  they 
may  be  used  with  melons,  squashes,  etc.,  and  very  many  other 
kinds  of  vegetable-plants  where  there  happen  to  be  hills  miss- 
ing. Take  a  plant  or  two  from  a  hill  that  has  it  to  spare,  and 
fill  out  the  vacancies.  With  strawberries  it  is  very  useful  for 
removing  plants  where  there  are  too  many,  and  taking  them  to- 
a  part  of  the  row  where  there  are  vacant  spaces. 


GROWING  STRAWBERRY-PLANTS. 
From  Gleanings  in  Bee^Culture,  Aug.  /,  iSqj. 

I  have  before  explained  many  times  why  it  is  that  a  well- 
rooted  young  plant  in  July  is  worth  ever  so  much  more  than 
one  later.  It  is  a  good  deal  like  the  old  adage — 

A  swarm  of  bees  in  May 
Is  worth  a  load  of  hay  ; 
A  swarm  of  bees  in  June 
Is  worth  a  silver  spoon  ; 
A  swarm  in  July 
Is  not  worth  a  fly. 

But  the  way  honey  has  been  coming  this  summer,  and  that, 
too,  during  the  last  part  of  July,  makes  me  inclined  to  think 
that  a  swarm  of  bees  in  July  might  this  season  be  worth  con- 
siderable after  all.  Well,  a  strawberry- plant  put  out  in  July 
may  make  two  good  plants  in  August ;  four  in  September  ;  eight 
by  October,  and  sixteen  by  November.  If  you  have  the  plants 
in  beds,  and  put  on  sashes,  you  may  make  thirty-two  by  Christ- 
mas. Again,  if  you  keep  off  all  runners,  and  just  make  the 
plant  grow  big  and  stocky,  you  may  get  a  whole  quart  of  ber- 
ries from  a  plant  that  has  not  been  located  even  one  year.  For 
the  reasons  just  given,  viz  push  plant-rearing  during  this  month. 
In  fact,  we  have  been  shipping  plants  at  a  lively  rate  every  day 
for  several  days  back.  Now,  how  shall  we  manage  to  get  good 
stocky  plants  with  the  least  expense  and  trouble  ?  There  is  no 
better  way  to  start  them  than  the  way  laid  down  in  the  straw- 
berry-book. Set  out  your  plants  in  the  spring  in  good  rich 
ground  well  fined  up,  in  rows  four  feet  apart,  the  plants  being 
two  feet  apart  in  a  row.  By  July,  if  you  have  done  your  part 
with  the  cultivator  and  weeder  and  hoes,  the  plants  will  be  set- 
ting considerably.  Some  say,  keep  the  runners  off  till  the 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  193 

plant  gets  strong;  but  this  would  deprive  you  of  jour  early 
plants. 

If,  then,  we  are  going  to  make  the  most  of  these  early 
plants,  how  shall  we  manage  to  keep  on  cultivating,  stirring 
the  soil,  and  keeping  out  weeds  ?  A  problem  besets  us  right 
here  that  I  have  discussed  many  times  in  these  pages.  The 
trouble  is  to  find  a  man  or  boy  who  will  put  the  runners  in  place 
so  as  to  have  them  crowd  each  other  as  little  as  possible,  and  at 
the  same  time  not  get  out  into  the  row  in  the  way  of  the  culti- 
vator. 

Well,  now,  I  have  hit  upon  a  little  device  that  has  enabled 
me  to  give  my  plants  space  in  very  good  shape,  and  at  compar- 
atively small  expense.  When  they  began  to  put  down  runners 
on  the  Brandywine  and  Wm.  Belt  rows,  I  called  tw©  of  my 
good  boys,  Carl  and  George.  We  first  stretched  a  string  just 
as  near  the  row  of  plants  as  we  could  have  it  and  still  give  room 
inside  the  string  to  set  all  the  runners.  Then  the  boys  were 
given  two  trowels  to  break  up  the  crust  between  the  plants 
where  the  cultivator  could  not  go,  and  make  it  all  mellow. 
Then  they  put  the  runners  down,  placing  a  little  dirt  with  the 
trowel  over  and  around  the  bud,  making  each  plant  go  inside 
the  string.  They  thought  I  might  give  them  a  little  more  room 
by  putting  the  string  further  away  ;  but  I  told  them  we  would 
put  it  further  off  next  time.  They  got  them  all  in  nicely,  leav- 
ing a  space  of  five  or  six  inches  between  every  two  plants. 
Then  they  took  a  hand -hoe  and  cultivated  the  ground  up  soft 
and  fine  clear  up  to  the  string.  The  string  was  then  moved  to 
the  other  side  of  the  row,  or,  rather,  two  strings  were  used,  one 
on  each  row  of  berries,  leaving  a  path  from  15  to  18  inches 
wide  between  the  two  strings.  Here  the  boys  stood  (or  sat 
down)  while  putting  the  plants  in  place. 

After  the  row  was  finished,  of  course  so  much  walking  on 
the  path  would  make  it  hard  from  the  stamping.  The  boys 
therefore  always  went  through  with  their  wheel-hoe,  and  fined 
it  up  again.  After  the  boys  had  finished  their  work,  a  nice 
shower  of  rain  came  up,  and  every  plant  they  had  put  down 
was  soon  rooted,  right  where  they  put  it.  It  was  indeed  a 
pleasant  sight  to  behold,  especially  as  the  edge  of  the  bed  where 
the  string  was  stretched  was  as  straight  as  a  line.  A  man  could 
go  in  with  a  horse  (and,  in  fact,  did  go  in  with  a  horse),  and 
keep  the  space  between  the  rows  beautifully  fined  up  and  keep 
down  all  weeds. 

You  may  say  it  is  lots  of  trouble  to  put  every  runner  down 
by  hand  where  you  want  a  plant  to  grow  ;  but  I  believe  it  is 

13 


194          ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

less  trouble  than  to  have  your  rows  in  certain  places  so  wide 
that  scarcely  a  path  is  left.  A  man  who  has  any  taste  and  skill 
at  all  will  go  into  a  nice  strawberry-patch  made  as  I  have  di- 
rected, and  run  his  fine-toothed  cultivator  clear  up  to  the  point 
where  the  string  was  stretched,  and  will  do  you  a  handsome 
job.  If  you  are  selling  plants,  you  get  ever  so  much  better 
roots  to  have  the  ground  evenly  occupied.  Now  try  it,  and  see 
if  my  invention  in  strawberry-growing  is  not  worth  something, 
even  if  said  invention  is  not  ( when  you  come  right  down  to  it) 
any  thing  more  than  a  ball  of  string  that  costs  only  a  nickel. 


HIGH  PRESSURE   STRAWBERRY  GROWING   AND  SUB  IRRIGA- 
TION. 
From  Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture,  Sept.  /,  1897. 

If  you  haven't  ground  enough  for  a  garden,  and  have  only 
a  few  rods  where  you  can  get  sunshine,  you  can  grow  wonder- 
ful strawberries  even  there ;  and  if  there  be  such  who  read 
Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture*  who  have  not  even  a  few  rods,  if 
they  have  even  a  tew  yards  of  ground  where  the  sun  may  shine 
a  part  of  the  day,  and  where  the  plants  may  get  the  benefit  of 
the  summer  showers,  they  may  have  much  enjoyment  and  much 
delicious  fruit,  even  with  a  few  yards.  Almost  the  only  condi- 
tion is  plenty  of  daylight.  During  mid  -  summer,  very  fine 
strawberries  may  be  grown  entirely  in  the  shade  ;  but  during 
the  rest  of  the  year  it  is  much  better  to  have  the  sunlight. 

Few  people  are  aware  of  what  wonderful  things  can  be 
done  with  strawberries  where  they  are  provided  unstintedly 
with  water  and  plenty  of  fertility.  You  need  not  urge  that  it 
will  not  pay  ;  for  if  you  get  interested  in  the  matter,  I  think 
the  enjoyment  will  almost  pay  you,  to  say  nothing  of  the  lus- 
cious fruit ;  and  then  the  pleasure  of  being  able  to  astonish 
your  friends  by  showing  them  strawberries  as  large  as  small- 
sized  hen's-eggs,  and  almost  as  perfect  in  shape,  which  you 
may  do  with  some  of  our  finest  new  varieties  ! 

To  commence  with,  we  must  have  sub  irrigation  ;  and  when 
you  succeed  in  managing  sub  irrigation  for  strawberry-plants 
you  have  the  matter  fully  in  hand  so  you  are  ready  to  apply  it 
to  almost  any  other  crop.  You  may  commence  on  a  very  small 
scale  at  first — in  fact,  I  rather  prefer  you  should  do  so.  When 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  195 

you  make  a  success  of  this  small  scale  you  can  easily  enlarge  it 
as  much  as  you  choose.  Perhaps  the  present  month  of  Sep- 
tember is  as  good  a  time  to  start  as  any,  for  we  can  now  lay  the 
foundation  for  great  bushy  plants  to  furnish  us  quantities  of 
immense  berries  next  spring.  For  sub-irrigation  you  must  have 
some  sort  of  bed  or  box  that  will  hold  water  ;  and  you  can 
start  the  business  very  well  with  a  large-sized  common  wash- 
tub,  if  you  do  not  like  to  go  to  the  expense  of  making  a  water- 
tight box.  A  tub  would  be  rather  deeper  than  is  necessary,  but 
it  will  illustrate  the  plan.  Provide  some  good  finely  sifted  gar- 
den soil — enough  to  fill  the  tub  a  third  full.  Then  get  some  old 
well-rotted  manure,  old  enough  so  you  can  work',  it  through  a 
coarse  sieve.  Such  a  one  as  is  used  for  screening  coal  ashes, 
will  answer  very  well.  Have  equal  parts  of  garden  soil  and 
sifted  manure.  A  little  clean  sand  and  some  swamp  muck  will 
help  make  a  nice  compost  if  you  have  materials  handy.  Set  a 
common  drain-tile  on  end  at  one  side  of  the  tub,  and  fill  it  with 
the  compost.  Now  you  want  a  strawberry-plant.  The  plant 
should  be  a  young  one  ;  but  if  you  can  not  find  a  young  one, 
almost  any  strawberry-plant  will  do.  But  I  would  start  with  a 
potted  plant  (see  cut,  p.  131)  of  one  of  the  very  best  of  the  new 
varieties,  because  it  is  just  as  easy  to  propagate  high-priced 
plants  as  low-priced  ones.  Set  the  plant  in  the  middle  of  the 
tub.  Let  your  tub  stand  where  it  can  get  both  rain  and  sun  ; 
but  should  there  be  a  very  heavy  rain  so  as  to  endanger  filling 
the  tub  with  water  so  it  rises  above  the  soil,  the  tub  must  be 
covered — that  is,  when  the  soil  is  wet  enough.  If  it  does  not 
rain,  paur  water  into  the  tile  until  it  rises  and  stands  say  two 
or  three  inches  below  the  surface  of  the  soil.  This  water  un- 
derneath will  always  keep  your  soil  damp  enough.  But  do  not 
water  your  bed  every  day.  Air  through  the  soil  at  intervals  is 
as  important  as  water  at  intervals. 

If  the  weather  should  happen  to  be  dry  and  warm,  evapo- 
ration will  take  away  the  water  until  it  sinks  in  the  tile  almost 
to  the  bottom  of  the  tub.  When  it  gets  down  say  within  an 
inch  of  the  bottom,  then  fill  it  up  to  within  an  inch  or  two  of 
the  top  ;  then  let  it  gradually  sink  down  again.  If  you  have 
rain  every  two  or  three  days  you  will  not  need  to  water  your 
little  bed  at  all.  But  keep  watch  of  it,  and  do  not  let  the 
plants  get  drowned  by  too  much  water,  nor  dried  out  by  lack 
of  water.  When  the  plant  gets  to  growing  vigorously  it  will 
put  out  runners.  Spread  these  out  like  the  spokes  of  a  wheel, 
and  let  them  take  root.  But  a  better  way  is  to  plunge  a  li  tie 
pot,  say  two  inches  in  diameter,  down  to  the  surface  of  the  soil, 


196          ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

and  make  the  plant  take  root  in  the  center  of  the  pot.  This  en- 
ables yon  to  move  your  young  plants  without  having  them  stop 
growing.  On  page  131  is  a  cut  of  a  potted  plant  when  the  roots 
have  filled  the  pot  so  that  it  needs  to  be  taktn  out  and  given 
more  room. 

!  -  What  is  meant  by  "  pot-bound  "  is  letting  the  plant  remain 
until  the  roots  have  so  filled  the  pot  that  they  become  cramped 
and  stunted.  If  you  start  plants  in  pots  you  must  be  sure  to 
take  them  out  before  they  become  pot-bound.  The  plant,  with 
all  the  soil  adhering  to  the  roots,  is  easily  removed  from  the 
pot  by  turning  it  over  and  striking  the  edge  of  the  pot  a  smart 
blow  on  some  solid  body — the  edge  of  the  tub,  for  instance. 
When  your  plants  are  ready  to  come  out  they  should  be  put  out 
in  a  similar  tub,  and  placed  at  least  three  or  four  inches  apart. 
If  you  want  them  to  bear  fruit  they  should  not  stand  nearer 
than  six  inches.  If  you  are  going  to  keep  the  runners  off,  and 
grow  them  in  hills,  they  ought  to  be  planted  as  much  as  two 
feet  apart.  The  largest  and  finest  berries  are  grown  by  the  hill 
system.  This  has  been  fully  described. 

Now,  in  the  above  you  have  the  whole  thing  in  a  nut-shell. 
Sub-irrigation  is  certainly  the  way  to  grow  strawberries.  The 
objection  to  it  is  the  expense  of  having  water-tight  beds.  You 
can  probably  make  a  wooden  box  much  cheaper  than  a  tub  ; 
and  if  you  are  going  to  make  a  box  it  ought  to  be  large  enough 
to  take  for  a  cover  a  common-sized  hot-bed  sash,  the  regular 
run  of  these  being  6  feet  long  by  3j£  ftet  wide.  This  box  can 
easily  be  made  sufficiently  water-tight  of  lumber  well  nailed 
together ;  but  it  is  generally  considered  cheaper  to  take  less 
pains  with  the  lumber  and  the  carpenter  work,  and  make  the 
joints  tight  with  water-lime  cement. 

There  are  many  opinions  in  regard  to  the  depth  of  soil 
needed  to  grow  plants  ;  but  I  believe  four  or  five  inches  is  deep 
enough.  Perhaps  you  had  better  have  six  inches  of  soil  and 
manure.  With  the  glass  sashes  I  have  spoken  of  you  can  pro- 
tect the  plants  from  frost,  and  have  strawberries  one  or  two 
months  earlier  than  you  can  get  them  in  the  open  air.  The 
sash  can  also  be  used  to  keep  off  surplus  rain  when  observation 
shows  you  there  is  enough  in  the  bed.  For  a  bed  3  by  6  feet 
you  will  want  at  least  two  tiles — one  in  opposite  corners  ;  and 
if  you  expect  to  neglect  your  bed,  and  let  it  get  full  of  water 
during  some  heavy  rain,  you  will  need  a  hole  bored  down  close 
to  the  bottom,  with  a  cork  to  stop  it  up.  But  I  do  not  like  this 
arrangement.  Whenever  you  let  water  off  because  you  have  so 
much  as  to  drown  the  plants,  you  are  leaching  away  the  fertili- 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  197 

ty  of  your  soil.  That  is  the  way  we  do  in  all  outdoor  farming 
and  gardening,  but  it  is  a  bad  way  nevertheless.  A  small  quan- 
tity of  manure  will  do  a  tremendous  lot  of  fertilizing  in  grow- 
ing plants  if  we  never  permit  the  fertility  to  be  leached  away 
and  washed  away  by  excessive  rains. 

Well,  after  you  get  your  sub-irrigating  strawberry -bed,  "3 
by  6  feet,  to  working  nicely,  you  are  .ready  to  try  a  larger  one. 
Your  bed  may  be  6  by  6  feet,  so  as  to  take  2  sashes,  or  it  may 
be  6  by  12  so  as  to  take  four  sashes  ;  or  you  may  have  it  6  by 
50  feet  so  as  to  take  14  sashes.  That  is  the  size  of  bed  we  use 
in  our  high-pressure  gardening.  I  would  not  have  it  more  than 
50  feet  long,  because  vou  have  to  carry  the  sash  so  far  when 
you  pile  them  up  at  each  end  of  the  bed.  You  will  find  cuts 
of  these  beds  in  our  tomato-book. 

"But  can  we  not,"  somebody  is  always  inquiring,  "prac- 
tice sub-irrigation  outdoors?"  We  can  ;  but  a  heavy  rain  is 
sure  to  fill  up  our  beds  and  necessitate  drawing  off  the  water. 
It  works  all  right  in  a  greenhouse  where  you  have  control  of 
the  water  supply  ;  but  I  do  not  know  how  sub-irrigation  can  be 
made  a  success  in  the  open  air  unless  you  arrange  valves  to  be 
opened  to  let  the  water  off  when  there  is  too  much  of  it ;  and 
the  water  that  comes  out  of  these  valves  will  show  by  its  color 
that  it  is  carrying  away  the  fertility  of  your  manure.  And  is 
not  this  an  objection  to  all  kinds  of  underdraining ?  Yes,  my 
friend,  it  is  an  objection  ;  but  it  is  much  better  than  to  have 
the  plants  drownel  by  a  surplus  of  moisture.  These  water- 
tight beds  are  expensive,  I  know  ;  but  for  high-pressure  garden- 
work  they  are  almost  a  necessity.  When  you  have  them  nicely 
arranged  you  can  push  strawberry  growing  or  any  thing  else 
right  through  the  most  severe  drouth  ;  and  with  the  sashes  put 
over  your  plants,  you  have  nothing  to  fear  in  the  way  of  frosts. 
I  supp3se,  however,  such  arrangements  will  be  particularly 
used  for  supplying  yourself  with  extra-strong  vigorous  plants 
to  put  in  the  field,  say  during  August  and  September;  and  if 
the  plants  are  of  some  new  variety  that  commands  a  high  price, 
you  can  push  your  propagation  without  regard  to  what  the 
weather  may  be. 

Taese  plant  beds  should  stand  exactly  level.  If  they  do 
not,  the  water  you  introduce  through  the  tiles  will  settle  to  the 
lowest  point,  and  you  want  it  disseminated  equally  all  through 
the  bed.  With  beds  say  50  feet  long  or  less,  two  lines  of  tiles 
should  run  the  whole  length  of  the  bed.  These  are  laid  in  ce- 
ment, and  the  joints  closed  half  way  up  the  diameter  of  the 


198  ABC   OF   STRAWBERRYJCULTURE. 

tile.  With  this  arrangement  the  water  may  be  introduced,  say, 
at  each  end  ;  and  you  will  in  time  moisten  the  soil  equally  the 
whole  length  of  the  bed.  Now,  while  the  bottom  of  the  bed 
is  on  a  dead  level  to  facilitate  even  watering,  the  sashes  should 
have  an  incline  when  placed  on  top  of  the  bed,  so  as  to  carry 
off  the  rain  water  ;  therefore  the  north  side  of  the  bed  should 
be  an  inch  or  two  higher  than  the  south  side. 


HOW  TO   GROW   EXTRA-FINE   STRAWBERRIES. 
From  Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture,  Sept.  75,  7,597. 

The  beds  I  have  described  will  probably  be  used  for  grow- 
ing plants  to  set  out  in  the  fields  rather  than  for  producing 
fruit,  although  by  far  the  finest  fruit  can  be  secured  by  this  same 
plan  of  sub-irrigation  When  your  beds  are  all  full  of  plants, 
as  they  will  all  very  quickly  be  providing  you  follow  up  the 
work  without  any  neglect,  you  will  probably  need  to  set  them 
out  in  the  open  ground.  This  plot  of  ground,  be  it  large  or 
small,  should  be  thoroughly  underdrained.  The  objection  to 
sub -irrigation  in  the  open  air,  I  have  already  given.  When  you 
have  potted  plants  to  spare,  put  them  out  in  ground  well  work- 
ed up  and  fertilized,  in  rows  4  feet  apart.  I  would  put  the 
plants  about  a  foot  apart  in  the  row.  Run  through  them  with 
your  hand  cultivators  or  horse  cultivators,  keeping  the  ground 
constantly  soft  and  mellow,  and  free  from  weeds. 

In  order  to  facilitate  cultivating,  every  time  you  go  to  work 
potting  plants,  stretch  a  string  on  each  side  of  the  row.  Now, 
have  this  string  as  near  the  mother-plants  that  are  putting  out 
runners  as  you  can,  and  have  just  the  young  plants  potted  in- 
side of  the  string,  and  yet  arrange  to  have  no  two  nearer  than 
five  inches  from  its  neighbor.  We  do  this  in  order  that  we  may 
keep  running  the  cultivator  clear  up  to  the  line  made  by  the 
string.  The  space  between  the  plants  must  be  kept  mellow, 
and  free  from  weeds,  by  some  of  the  various  hand  weeders. 
Below  is  a  cut  of  an  excellent  one  for  this  purpose. 


A   HAND  WEEDER    FOR  WORKING   AMONG  STRAWBERRIES. 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  199 

Now,  the  above  arrangement  is  all  right  for  growing  fruit 
on  the  plan  called  the  matted-row  system,  only  we  avoid  let- 
ting the  plants  stand  near  together,  on  the  plan  that  Terry 
recommends. 

If  you  want  to  grow  extra  large  nice  fruit,  there  is  a  still 
better  way  ;  but  there  are  several  objections  to  this  "better 
way."  First,  it  is  lots  of  work  to  do  all  the  cultivating  by 
hand.  Second,  it  is  lots  of  work  to  keep  the  runners  off. 
Third,  while  you  are  growing  fruit  you  can  not  grow  plants  for 
sale  ;  and  where  the  plants  are  rare  and  valuable,  this  is  quite 
an  objection.  But,  dear  friends,  you  must  remember  that  in 
strawberry -growing  you  can  not  grow  the  finest  fruit  and  grow 
plants  for  sale  at  the  same  time.  In  bee  culture  you  can  not 
get  great  crops  of  honey  and  a  great  amount  of  increase  of  col- 
onies in  the  same  season.  You  will  have  to  decide  whether  it 
shall  be  more  valuable  plants,  or  simply  grow  big  berries  and 
more  of  them.  By  the  way,  perhaps  I  should  say  that,  while 
you  are  growing  plants,  all  fruit  stems  should  be  clipped  off. 
You  can  not  get  the  finest  plants  if  you  let  the  mother-plants 
that  are  sending  out  the  runners  bear  fruit. 

We  will  suppose,  then,  that  you  have  in  your  sub-irrigating 
beds,  and  even  in  your  very  rich  beds  in  the  garden,  kept  off 
all  blossom-buds.  You  have  got  to  the  point  where  you  have 
hundreds  or  thousands  of  nice  strong  plants  with  great  bundles 
of  roots.  They  ought  to  be  potted  transplanted  plants.  What 
shall  we  do  with  them  ?  Well,  in  the  first  place  we  want  a  piece 
of  ground — the  nearer  square  the  better,  although  this  is  not 
particularly  important.  It  should  be  at  least  an  eighth  of  an 
acre  ;  but  if  you  have  not  that  much  we  will  try  to  get  along 
with  less.  Have  it  well  underdrained,  then  work  it  up  fine  and 
soft  down  12  or  15  inches,  or  even  18  inches  deep,  if  you  can 
afford  the  expense.  If  the  patch  is  small,  get  some  expert  gar- 
dener to  spade  it  two  "  spits  "  deep,  working  in  all  the  manure 
meanwhile  you  can  get  hold  of.  If  you  do  it  with  horses, 
spread  as  much  manure  on  the  ground  as  can  possibly  be  plow- 
ed under.  Have  a  man  follow  the  plow  to  pull  the  manure  into 
the  furrow  ;  and  then  after  the  ground  is  plowed  and  harrowed, 
get  some  fine  manure  that  will  not  clog  the  cultivators,  and 
work  in  a  lot  more  in  the  surface.  Harrow  it  or  cultivate  it  un- 
til it  is  fine  and  loose;  then  roll  it  until  it  is  level ;  and  I  would 
take  considerable  pains  to  level  it  with  a  rake  and  shovel  before 
rolling  it. 

In  order  to  have  surface  drainage  as  well  as  underdrainage 
I  would  have  a  good  deep  ditch  all  around  the  piece,  and  have 


200          ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

the  ground  slope  gently  from  the  center  toward  these  outside 
ditches.  Never  let  the  water  ttand  in  puddles  anywhere  on 
your  strawberry- patch. 


::^^^^^%:» 


A  ~  B 

HOW  TO  PI,ANT  STRAWBERRIES   FOR   HII<I,  CULTURE. 

Now  with  the  marker  described  on  page  136,  mark  the  plot, 
say  from  east  to  west,  with  marks  as  near  2i  inches  apart  as 
you  can  make  it.  Any  sort  of  mark  that  you  can  see  plainly 
will  answer.  We  now  want  to  set  the  plants  2  feet  apart  in 
these  marks  ;  but  you  do  not  want  them  to  come  in  squares. 
Each  row  of  plants  should  "break  joints  "  with  the  preceding 
row  ;  then  any  three  plants  in  the  plot  will  stand  in  the  form 
of  a  triangle  ;  and  this  triangle  will  be  2  feet  on  each  of  its 
three  sides.  The  diagram  above  will  help  us  to  get  the  idea. 

You  will  see  by  the  diagram  that  each  rjlant  is  the  center 
of  a  circle  of  six  plants.  The  plants  are  equally  distant  from 
the  center  one  and  from  each  other,  like  the  cells  of  a  honey- 
comb, if  you  choose. 

There  are  two  reasons  for  planting  in  this  way.  When  the 
plants  are  large  and  bushy,  they  entirely  cover  the  ground 
much  better  than  if  they  were  planted  in  squares,  and  each 
plant  has  all  the  room  it  possibly  can  have.  Second,  you  can 
cultivate  them  from  right  to  left  and  diagonally  two  other  ways 
— see  marks  made  by  the  cultivator  on  the  left  hand  side  of  the 
cut  above.  With  this  arrangement  every  runner  is  to  be  clip- 
ped off  just  as  soon  as  it  can  be  seen.  The  plants  are  to  be 
pushed  into  fruit-bearing.  They  are  to  make  fruit  and  noth- 
ng  else  ;  and  if  you  have  never  tried  the  experiment  you  will 
be  astonished  to  see  the  size  and  beauty  of  the  fruit  grown  in 


A  B  C   OF  [STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  201 

this  way.  All  the  great  strawberry-growers  all  over  the  world 
are  practicing  this  or  a  similar  plan,  where  they  want  extra-fine 
fruit.  If  you  mark  the  ground  and  put  it  out  as  above,  your 
plants  will  be  just  about  two  feet  apart  from  center  to  center. 

Perhaps  you  may  ask  how  to  get  these  plants  exactly  on 
this  equilateral-triangle  arrangement.  In  the  cut  you  will  see 
three  letters,  A,  B,  C.  These  letters  form  an  equilateral  trian- 
gle. Make  it  as  large  as  your  plot  of  ground  will  admit.  Take 
three  strings  of  equal  length  ;  stretch  one  of  them  on  the  first 
row  from  right  to  left ;  then  stretch  the  other  two  so  they  will 
meet  at  the  point  C.  Now  cut  two  sticks  just  21  inches  long, 
or  the  distance  between  the  marks  made  by  your  marker.  Use 
a  stick  at  each  end  of  the  row  to  measure  from  the  first  string, 
and  stretch  the  string  every  time  you  put  in  a  row  of  plants. 
These  rows  are  to  be  parallel,  either  with  the  line  B  C  or  A  C. 
Set  a  potted  plant  wherever  the  string  crosses  a  furrow  mark. 
The  cultivating  is  all  to  be  done  with  the  hand  cultivator  or 
garden -plow  pictured  below. 


COLE'S  GARDEN-PLOW. 

Price  $4.50,  with  all  the  above  attachments  ;  made  by  G.  W.  Cole, 
Canton,  111. 

This  plow  has  three  teeth,  as  you  will  observe,  and  makes 
three  furrows.  The  dotted  lines  between  the  plants  in  the  cut 
are  to  represent  these  furrows.  Run  this  cultivator  through 
the  plants  in  three  different  directions,  as  I  have  indicated,  say 
as  often  as  once  a  week;  and  be  sure  you  run  it  once  after  every 
shower  when  the  ground  in  the  beds  is  in  the  best  state  to  pul. 


202          ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY    CULTURE. 

verize.  Any  boy  will  do  it  after  you  show  him  how,  and  he 
will  think  it  is  fun — that  is,  if  the  field  is  not  too  large  and  the 
boy  is  not  too  small.  If  you  have  a  spell  of  dry  weather,  such 
as  we  are  having  now,  keep  your  garden-plow  going,  and  it 
will  almost  take  the  place  of  watering.  In  fact,  that  is  what 
our  garden-plow  is  doing  just  across  the  way  while  I  write  these 
lines.  Some  kinds  of  plants  are  better  suited  for  this  hill-cul- 
ture system  than  others  ;  but  almost  any  variety  will  do  ever 
so  much  better  when  it  has  room  and  good  cultivation,  and 
does  not  have  to  make  runners. 

While  on  the  subject  of  hand  cultivators  for  strawberries, 
I  might  say  we  have  used  the  cultivator  figured  below,  pur- 
chased of  Montgomery  Ward  &  Co.,  of  Chicago. 


HAND  CULTIVATOR,  SCUFFI,E-HOE,  PLOW,  AND  WEEDER. 
PRICE  $3.75. 

The  above  is  a  most  substantial  tool  because  it  is  all  metal 
except  the  handles  ;  and  by  turning  it  over  there  is  a  sharp 
plow  that  will  throw  the  dirt  either  to  or  from  the  plants,  and 
that,  too,  without  any  time  wasted  in  changing  the  tools — just 
work  it  upside  down.  The  only  ejection  that  I  have  found  to 
this  machine  is  that  it  is  rather  heavier  than  the  Cole  garden- 
plow;  and  this  might  be  no  objection  at  all  to  a  good  stout  man. 
It  will  stand  more  wear  and  tear  than  the  lighter  implement ; 
but  the  Cole  plow  might  be  found  easier  for  a  boy  or  an  old 
man  (say  of  62,  like  myself)  who  has  not  the  strength  to  work 


A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  203 

the  heavier  tool  continuously.    Both  of  these  plows  are  splendid 
tools  for  working  a  strawberry-patch  by  hand.* 


PREPARING   GROUND   FOR   STRAWBERRIES. 

From  Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture,  May  75,  1898. 

Right  near  our  quarter-acre  of  plant-beds  is  a  piece  of  poor 
clay  ground  that  persistently  refused  to  give  decent  crops  of 
any  thing.  It  was  not  only  poor  soil,  but  it  was  in  a  low  spot 
where  water  had  stood.  I  underdrained  it,  but  it  was  soggy 
and  sour,  even  then.  Then  I  made  surface-drains  all  around 
it.  I  plowed  it  up,  worked  down  the  lumps,  and  put  on  ma- 
nure. I  suppose  a  good  many  old  farmers  would  have  said  I 
had  better  let  it  alone  and  make  garden  somewhere  else.  But 
the  ground  was  near  the  railroad,  and  had  cost  at  about  the 
rate  of  $2000  an  acre.  We  bought  it  more  to  prevent  somebody 
else  from  locating  there  than  for  almost  any  thing  else.  Well, 
I  kept  on  working  the  ground,  plowing  manure  under,  and 
working  old  well-rotted  manure  into  the  surface,  but  still  it  did 
not  seem  to  amount  to  much.  Then  I  put  on  some  cotton  seed 
that  came  to  us  with  sweet  potatoes  packed  in  them  ;  put  on 
poultry  manure  ;  then  I  gave  it  a  good  dressing  with  lime,  and 
finally  it  began  to  respond  and  "  smile."  We  put  out  Marshall 
strawberries  and  other  kinds  that  were  in  demand,  and  began 
to  sell  plants.  The  results  of  my  patient  working  and  manur- 
ing began  to  be  apparent.  We  had  great  beautiful  berries,  won- 
derfully large  and  beautiful  green  leaves,  and  then  great  run- 
ners almost  as  large  as  slate-pencils  in  size.  And  then  what 
beautiful  plants  we  secured  to  send  out  to  customers  ! 

We  kept  working  the  ground  with  wheel-hoes  between  the 
rows  ;  and  every  little  while,  when  the  plants  got  to  getting 
out  into  the  paths,  so  it  was  difficult  to  cultivate,  we  would 
stretch  a  string  and  take  up  all  the  plants  outside  of  the  string. 
Then  just  after  a  rain  we  would  run  the  hoes  again  until  the 
ground  was  fine,  soft,  and  mellow.  At  one  time  I  felt  a  little 
fear  that  I  was  throwing  money  away  by  putting  manure  and 
work  on  that  piece  of  ground.  But  it  has  given  us  beautiful 
plants  that  have  paid  several  times  over  for  the  manure  and 
abor,  and  the  ground  is  in  such  tilth  now  that  it  goes  right 


204  ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

ahead  without  any  manuring.  In  fact,  it  is  the  finest  piece  of 
ground,  I  do  believe,  on  our  premises.  Anv  thing  will  grow 
there.  You  may  say  we  get  our  money  back  because  we  are 
selling  plants  at  good  prices.  But  I  think  you  \\ill  get  your 
money  back  for  fixing  up  a  piece  of  ground  like  this,  even  if 
you  do  not  sell  a  plant.  In  the  first  place,  you  get  fruit  that 
"astonishes  the  natives,"  both  in  quantity  and  quality.  If  you 
do  not  sell  plants,  you  probably  buy  them  more  or  less.  Now, 
have  a  piece  of  ground  like  this  ;  and  when  new  plants  come 
out  that  cost  a  lot  of  money  at  first,  purchase  just  one  plant. 
If  it  does  not  become  popular,  you  are  not  much  out  of  pock- 
et ;  but  if  it  does,  you  can  raise  your  own  plants  at  a  cost  of 
less  than  a  cent  apiece,  when  they  may  be  worth  a  dollar  a  doz- 
en, or  even  two  dollars,  on  the  market. 

There  are  three  or  four  new  strawberries  that  command 
very  high  prices  in  almost  any  market.  The  man  who  pur- 
chased only  one  plant  last  year,  and  raised  a  lot  of  young  ones 
from  it,  is  lucky.  The  Nick  Ohmer,  Margaret,  and  Darling 
are  all  plants  of  this  kind.  Another  thing,  it  is  fun  to  have  a 
garden  where  you  have  a  piece  of  ground  that  just  makes  every 
thing  boom.  On  our  clay  soil,  when  we  once  get  a  piece  like 
this  into  high-pressure  condition  the  effect  of  the  heavy  ma- 
nuring lasts  through  a  long  period  of  years.  In  the  shade  of 
our  machine-shop  there  are  some  beds  that  were  fixed  up  sev- 
eral years  ago  They  have  had  no  manure  for  several  seasons. 
As  they  are  so  much  shaded  we  use  them  only  for  celery-plants. 
The  ground  is  fine,  soft,  dark,  and  rich  ;  and  it  is  a  beautiful 
place  to  heel  in  stuff  for  a  few  days,  where  we  want  it  in  the 
shade.  The  quality  of  the  soil  seems  to  invite  any  plant  to  put 
out  roots.  In  fact,  we  have  been  selling  the  dirt  to  the  people 
around  town  for  their  house  plants,  at  25  cts.  a  bushel.  Now, 
every  one  of  you,  I  am  sure,  can  afford  to  have  a  little  piece  of 
exceedingly  rich  ground  near  your  homes.  First  have  it  per- 
fectly underdrained  ;  then  either  spade  or  plow  it  up  very  deep. 
Let  it  freeze  in  winter  and  di  y  out  in  summer  ;  then  plow,  pul- 
verizing it  at  just  the  right  time  after  every  shower.  Get  out 
all  the  sticks  and  stores.  If  it  is  heavy  clay,  put  in  ?ome  st  nd. 
Give  it  a  coating  of  lime  occasionally  ;  and,  above  all,  work  in 
lots  of  gocd  stable  manure  ;  and  be  sure  that  you  do  not  let  it 
spend  its  energies  in  growing  great  weeds  after  you  get  it  up  to 
the  high-pressure  notch.  Such  a  piece  of  ground  will  grow 
weeds  higher  than  the  eaves  of  your  bouse  in  an  incredibly 
short  space  of  time,  if  they  once  get  a  going. 


ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  205 

OUR   H\.I,F-ACRE   STRAWBSRRY-PVTCH   WITH    PLANTS  TWO 
FEST   APART   EACH  WAY. 

Last  fall  I  told  you  about  this.  We  are  just  now  (May  15) 
having  fun  running  the  wheel-hoe  through  it  after  every  sum- 
mer shower,  cultivating  it  in  all  three  directions,  as  shown  in 
the  diagram.  The  ground  is  getting  so  soft  and  fine  that  the 
boys  do  not  dislike  the  job  of  cultivating  it  at  all  ;  and,  in  fact, 
it  is  but  little  work  to  keep  it  clean,  and  the  ground  soft  and 
fine.  The  plants  are  growing  amazingly.  Tne  original  idea 
was,  you  m*y  remember,  to  take  off  every  runner  as  fast  as  it 
showed  itself.  Bat  a  difficulty  presents  itself  right  here.  As 
this  was  to  be  a  trial  patch  of  the  different  varieties  for  hill  cul- 
ture, it  contains  some  very  high-priced  plants  ;  and  to  pull  off 
the  runners  and  throw  them  away  would  be  rather  extravagant; 
therefore  we  have  decided  to  let  runners  grow  on  at  least  a  part 
of  these  valuable  plants,  and  get  them  to  take  root  in  little  pots 
of  jadoo.  After  the  roots  have  started  you  can  clip  off  the  run- 
ner and  move  the  plants  into  a  shaded  bed.  I  do  not  believe 
this  will  rob  the  parent  plant  of  very  much  vitality.  It  will  be 
keeping  off  the  runners,  with  this  difference  :  we  allow  them 
to  commence  taking  root  before  we  "wean  "  them,  or  before 
we  take  them  away  from  the  mother-plant  entirely.  But  I  tell 
you  it  is  fun  to  have  a  strawberry-patch  so  you  can  run  the  cul- 
tivator all  around  every  plant,  and  do  it  fast. 


MULCHING   AND   MANURING   STRAWBERRIES  AT  ONE   AND   THE 

SAME    TIME 
From  Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture,  July  /,  1895. 

We  have  about  an  acre  of  strawberries  that  are  growing 
their  third  crop.  We  ordinarily  let  them  bear  only  two  years  ; 
but  we  kept  working  and  manuring  this  patch  in  order  to  get 
plants,  and  this  season  we  proposed  to  plow  it  under  just  as 
soon  as  the  last  berries  were  picked.  Only  part  of  it  was  mulch- 
ed during  the  winter.  We  do  but  little  mulching,  because  we 
want  to  work  the  ground  in  the  spring  so  as  to  get  nice  plants 
for  shipping.  But  just  before  picking-time  we  found  we  should 
have  to  mulch  with  something.  Muddy  and  gritty  strawberries 
are  behind  the  times.  Every  strawberry-grower  ought  to  be 
ashamed  of  offering  dirty  berries.  On  the  fairground,  near  our 


206          A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

place,  there  are  some  horse-stables  where  they  make  a  great 
quantity  of  loose  strawy  manure.  It  is  so  much  straw  and  so 
little  manure  that  I  pay  only  from  50  to  75  cts.  a  load,  and  this 
for  a  load  that  we  bring  on  our  hay-rack.  Well,  I  thought  I 
would  use  this  for  mulching  to  keep  the  berries  off  the  ground. 
You  know  '-ow  the  frost  cut  them  off,  and  just  about  spoiled 
the  Jessies  with  some  others,  and  then  the  hot  drouth  diminish- 
ed and  dried  up  what  few  berries  were  left.  Well,  we  had  pret- 
ty much  given  up  getting  any  strawberries  worth  mentioning  ; 
but  a  pretty  good  rain  came  on  the  evening  of  the  19th,  and 
lasted  during  the  forenoon  of  the  next  day  ;  and  almost  as  soon 
as  the  rain  was  over  I  was  happily  surprised  to  see  not  only  the 
bright  new  foliage,  but  stems  of  berries  sticking  up  here  and 
there  that  had  just  about  doubled  in  size  during  the  rain  ;  that 
is,  they  were  twice  the  size  they  would  have  been  had  it  not 
been  for  the  rain  and  manure  Well,  now.  that  acre  of  straw- 
berries is  bearing  considerable  nice  fruit,  and  making  plants  at 
a  tremendous  rate,  under  the  influence  of  the  straw  mulching 
and  the  manure.  One  objection  to  stable-manure  has  been',  you 
know,  weed  seeds  ;  but  if  we  are  going  to  plow  the  patch  under 
so  soon,  who  cares  for  the  weeds?  The  more  they  come,  the 
better.  I  propose  now  to  let  the  whole  thing  be  until  both 
weeds  and  plants  get  at  their  best,  then  we  will  take  out  the 
best  of  the  plants,  with  a  lump  of  dirt  adhering,  and  make  a 
new  plantation  right  beside  the  old  one.  By  this  time  the 
weeds  will  be  up  so  as  to  be  worth  something  to  plow  under  ; 
and  thus  we  shall  have  a  splendid  piece  of  ground  for  buck- 
wheat and  crimson  clover,  as  mentioned  in  the  last  issue,  or 
for  any  other  late  crop. 

A  VISIT  AMONG    THE  STRAWBERRY  GROWERS. 

Saturday  afternoon,  June  15,  I  started  out  to  see  what  my 
neighbors  were  doing  in  the  height  of  the  berry  season.  About 
ten  miles  northeast  of  Medina  I  found  the  Lawnsdale  fruit- 
farm,  on  ground  high  enough  so  they  were  affected  by  the  frost 
but  little  compared  with  our  own  locality.  Friend  Williams, 
the  proprietor,  raises  strawberries,  raspberries,  blackberries, 
gooseberries,  and  currants,  with  potatoes  for  filling  in  and  to 
make  a  sort  of  rotation  of  crops.  He  has  about  30  acres  of 
land,  and  it  was  really  a  refreshing  sight  to  behold  such  a  ber- 
ry-farm right  in  the  midst  of  a  locality  where  every  thing  else 
is  devoted  to  regular  farming  and  stock-raising  on  a  heavy  clay 
soil. 

On  a  northern  slope  near  the  road  I  found  about  an  acre  of 


ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  207 

strawberries  that  was  worthy  of  a  picture  ;  but  I  did  not  have 
the  Kodak  along  that  time.  The  berry-plants  are  in  rows,  ap- 
parently about  four  feet  apart,  like  our  own.  They  were  so 
well  mulched  with  straw  in  the  fall  that  not  a  berry  could  find 
a  grain  of  dirt  or  soil  to  rest  on.  Friend  W.  hit  it  exactly  in 
being  slow  to  remove  the  mulching.  He  kept  the  plants  back 
all  he  could  without  injury,  and  then  gradually  made  openings 
in  the  straw  to  let  the  plants  come  up  through  when  they  were 
ready  to  start.  By  the  way,  I  have  never  found  anybody  yet 
who  would  remove  the  mulching  with  sufficient  care  to  suit  me. 
They  would  go  and  claw  the  straw  all  away  and  throw  it  in  the 
paths.  Now,  the  straw  should  not  be  moved  a  particle.  L/et 
the  berries  go  up  through  it,  leaving  the  straw  where  it  is  ;  then 
you  will  have  a  perfect  mat  to  keep  down  weeds  and  to  keep 
the  fruit  out  of  the  dirt  It  also  serves  to  keep  the  berries  back 
so  as  to  avoid  a  late  frost.  Only  two  kinds  were  on  this  patch 
— Crescent  and  Downing^three  rows  of  one  and  then  three 
rows  of  the  other,  and  so  on.  Varieties  that  succeed  splendid- 
ly here  in  Medina  do  not  prove  to  be  the  best  there,  just  ten 
miles  away,  and  therefore  I  feel  sure  it  behooves  every  straw- 
berry-grower to  test,  say,  one  row  of  each  of  the  best  kinds 
prominently  before  the  public  ;  then  make  a  selection  of  what 
suits  your  locality,  and  stick  to  your  selection.  I  do  not  be- 
lieve any  grower  wants  very  many  kinds  for  fruit  alone  in  his 
locality.  It  may  pay  him  to  have  a  few  Michel's  Early,  and, 
say,  a  few  late  ones  like  the  Gandy  ;  or  if  other  extra  late  ones 
or  extra  early  ones  do  better,  take  them  instead.  Friend  W. 
does  almost  all  the  work  on  his  30  acres  with  the  help  of  bis 
wife  and  two  children.  It  keeps  them  pretty  busy,  especially 
during  the  berry  time  ;  but,  if  I  am  right,  the  happy  families 
are  the  busy  families.  I  shall  long  remember  the  hour  I  spent 
in  and  around  that  pleasant  little  home.  And,  oh  !  by  the  way, 
I  picked  up 

A  HORSE    STORY 

at  that  home  that  I  am  sure  will  interest  you.  Friend  W.  is 
about  two  miles  from  the  town  of  Brunswick.  His  girl  attends 
school  there,  and  comes  home  nights.  Now,  this  will  do  very 
well  in  good  weather  ;  but  how  about  bad  weather  ?  I  will  tell 
you.  They  have  a  sagacious,  gentle  horse  that  takes  the  young 
lady  to  school  every  morning,  and  comes  home  himself.  About 
the  time  for  school  to  be  out  he  goes  back  for  his  young  mis- 
tress. As  there  is  not  any  driver  he  sometimes  takes  things 
easy  in  going  the  two  miles,  and  does  not  reach  his  destination 


208          ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

till  after  school  is  out.  At  such  times  the  young  lady  comes  to 
meet  him  on  foot  along  the  sidewalks  that  go  a  piece  out  of 
town.  He  has  learned  that,  when  he  meets  her,  he  must  turn 
around  and  go  back  again  ;  so  he  watches  all  the  little  girls  of 
about  her  size  as  they  cor/.e  out  of  the  school  and  come  down 
his  way,  turning  his  head  and  pricking  up  his  ears  while  he 
scrutinizes  each  miss  to  see  whether  she  is  the  one  he  "  belongs 
to."  Sometimes  he  seems  somewhat  undecided,  and  stops  in 
the  road  to  take  a  better  look.  When  he  is  satisfied  the  one  in 
question  is  not  his  "  best  girl  "  then  he  goes  on  for  the  next, 
and  so  on.  This  brings  in  an  interesting  point  just  here  :  How 
far  can  a  horse  see,  and  see  plainly  enough  to  distinguish  one 
person  from  another?  I  suggested  that  meddlesome  people 
might  tie  the  horse  up,  thinking  he  was  astray  ;  and  they  very 
soon  found  that  a  card  would  have  to  be  hung  on  to  the  har- 
ness, to  the  effect,  "You  let  me  alone.  I  know  where  I  am 
going,  and  I  am  all  O.  K."  After  this,  especially  as  the  people 
round  about  have  "  caught  on,"  he  made  his  daily  trips  with- 
out hindrance. 

THE   BARBER   BERRY-FARM. 

This  is  about  two  miles  directly  north  of  Brunswick.  It  is 
near  what  they  call  Stone  Hill.  As  I  pushed  my  wheel  up  the 
neat  graveled  path  under  the  trees,  a  pleasant-faced  woman 
met  me  with  smiles,  telling  me  her  husband  was  just  starting 
off,  but  that  I  could  stop  him  if  it  were  attended  to  at  once. 
Friend  Barber  has  been  in  the  fruit-business  from  childhood  up, 
and  he  has  perhaps  50  acres  on  a  gravelly  stony  hill,  devoted 
entirely  to  fruits.  This  hill  is  a  very  high  one.  The  slope  to- 
ward the  west  must  be  down  a  hundred  feet  or  more  ;  and  the 
consequence  is,  he  has  his  trees  and  berries  loaded  with  fruit — 
grapes,  plums,  cherries,  peaches,  etc.  It  was  a  real  pleasure  to 
me  to  find  I  was  able  to  name  not  only  his  strawberries,  but 
nearly  all  his  raspberries,  currants,  and  some  of  the  blackber- 
ries. After  experimenting  some  he  has  decided  to  plant  the 
Victoria  currant  almost  entirely,  and  nothing  else.  For  rasp- 
berries he  has  the  Cuthbert  for  red,  and  Gregg  for  black  ;  some 
Shaffer's  Colossal,  and  some  Marlboro  for  early.  He  not  only 
uses  the  hill,  but,  like  myself,  he  has  a  creek -bottom  strawber- 
ry-patch which  is  nice  to  start  plants  ;  and  when  the  frost  holds 
off  it  gives  quite  a  lot  of  fruit.  Various  springs  in  the  hillside 
would  probably  fill  a  reservoir  sufficient  to  irrigate  his  lower 
grounds,  and  he  is  just  now  planning  to  have  this  done. 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  209 

REDUCING  THE  EXPENSE  OF  PICKING. 

Friend  Williams  gave  a  valuable  suggestion  right  here. 
Both  he  and  Mr.  Barber  had  their  berries  picked  at  the  rate  of 
5  cts.  for  a  four-quart  basket.  Now,  it  costs  more  than  this  to 
get  our  berries  picked  ;  but  we  pick  them  every  other  day. 
Friend  W.,  by  using  Crescents  and  Cumberlands,  can  wait  three 
or  even  four  days,  as  the  berries  are  firm  enough  to  stand  han- 
dling, even  if  some  of  them  are  a  little  overripe.  You  see,  the 
pickers  can  work  cheaper  where  the  berries  are  very  plentiful. 
Heavy  mulching,  with  his  peculiar  soil,  perhaps  helps  to  raise 
berries  that  will  stand  this  length  of  time  between  the  pickings. 

Before  I  was  half  through  looking  at  and  sampling  the 
Haverlands,  Cumberlands,  Jessies,  etc.,  the  sun  was  setting, 
and  I  was  ten  miles  from  home  Saturday  night.  Oh  what  a 
nice  thing  is  a  wheel !  We  were  back  in  the  fields  about  half  a 
mile  from  the  road,  and  the  half-mile  was  up  a  long  steep  hill. 
I  suggested  that  I  could  cross  the  fields  and  strike  the  road  in 
the  valley,  as  that  route  would  be  much  less  hilly  for  me  for 
my  trip  home.  Now  comes  in  the  advantage  of  a  light  wheel. 
I  could  hang  it  over  my  shoulder,  climb  fences,  or  get  through 
bushes,  without  much  hindrance.  It  made  me  puff  some  until 
I  struck  the  highway,  and  then  what  a  delight  it  was  to  spin 
along  a  road  almost  level !  To  really  enjoy  wheeling  to  its  full- 
est extent  you  should  walk  occasionally  until  you  are  tired  of 
walking  ;  then  the  wheel  comes  in  and  gives  you  that  delicious 
rest.  A  boy  in  his  teens  came  down  from  a  pretty  house  by  the 
way,  and  mounted  his  wheel.  He  did  not  see  me  ;  but  I  thought 
I  would,  just  for  the  fun  of  it,  run  past  him  and  show  him 
what  an  18  Ib.  Rambler  could  do.  But  I  did  not  show  him  the 
Rambler  at  all.  Do  you  know  why  ?  Why,  he  kept  ahead  of 
me  in  spite  of  any  thing  I  could  do,  and  in  a  little  time  he  was 
away  off  in  the  distance,  clear  out  of  sight,  even  if  his  wheel 
did  weigh  more  than  twice  as  much  as  mine  did.  Never  mind. 
I  always  feel  glad  when  somebody  gets  ahead  of  me,  even  if  I 
had  planned  otherwise — at  least,  I  hope  I  do  ;  and  I  am  cer- 
tainly happy  in  seeing  the  boys  and  giris  put  distance  to  naught, 
even  outdistancing  myself  in  it.  There  seems  to  be  something 
especially  fascinating  about  wheeling  during  twilight ;  and  aft- 
er visiting  California  and  Florida,  and  experiencing  almost  sud- 
den darkness  as  the  sun  goes  down,  I  enjoy  our  Ohio  twilights 
more  than  I  ever  did  before. 


14 


210          ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE, 


REPORT   ON    THE    NEW  VARIETIES   OF   STRAWBERRIES    IN    THE 

MIDDLE  OF  JUNE. 
From  Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture,  July  /,  1897. 

The  Marshall  has  done  grandly,  both  under  glass  and  in  the 
open  air.  Brandywine  is  just  begining  to  ripen,  and  grow  ber- 
ries that  can  hang  on  the  vines  for  two  or  three  days,  and  still 
be  so  firm  and  solid  that  they  may  be  tumbled  about  like  pota- 
toes. The  Wm.  Belt  is  well  loaded  with  fruit,  but  only  just  be- 
gining to  ripen.  Margaret  has  given  us  some  of  the  largest 
and  finest  berries  I  ever  saw;  but  the  Nick  Ohmer  caps  them  all, 
not  only  in  great  size,  but  in  producing  berries  as  round  and 
symmetrical  as  a  peach,  and  pretty  nearly  the  size4  I  kept  one 
on  the  vines  for  three  days  to  show  to  visitors,  and  it  was  very 
solid  and  firm  when  picked.  It  weighed  almost  an  ounce  and  a 
half.  This  was  from  a  plant  set  late  last  fall.  The  runners 
were  not  picked  off,  and  it  was  allowed  to  mature  a  full  crop  of 
fruit. 

WHO  WOULDN'T  BE  A  GARDENER? 

Sometimes  I  think  it  strange  that  there  is  anybody  in  this 
world  who  does  not  have  a  garden;  and  then  at  other  times, 
when  prices  are  low  and  we  can  not  get  the  cost  of  our  stuff, 
and  every  thing  goes  wrong,  I  do  not  wonder  that  so  many 
people  say  they  would  rather  buy  their  stuff,  what  they  want, 
than  to  be  bothered  with  any  sort  of  garden.  Well,  yesterday 
and  to-day  have  been  bright  days  for  the  gardening  business. 
After  a  severe  drouth  we  had  a  succession  of  refreshing  showers. 
Our  beds  were  so  full  of  plants  that  I  began  to  fear  we  should 
never  have  customers  for  all  of  them;  but  after  the  shower  the 
people  came  in  crowds  for  plants.  I  stationed  myself  near  the 
garden,  and  called  in  help  for  the  boys,  and  it  kept  me  as  busy 
as  I  could  be  in  answering  questions  and  giving  directions. 

While  the  "  boom  was  on  "  for  plants  people  began  to  go 
for  the  strawberries  lively.  They  had  just  got  down  to  8  and  9 
cents,  and  somebody  in  the  store  was  complaining  that  there 
was  not  a  quart  of  strawberries  to  be  had,  and  customers  wait- 
ing. But  there  were  some  big  rows  of  Bubachs,  Marshalls,  and 
Brandy  wines  waiting  to  be  picked;  and  in  a  twinkling  we  had 
a  lively  time  around  the  strawberry -beds.  We  might  have 
put  up  a  notice,  "  Beautiful  strawberries  picked  while  you 
wait."  In  fact,  that  is  what  we  did  do.  With  myself  on  hand 


ABC  OF  STRAWBERRY    CULTURE.          211 

to  show  off  the  plants,  and  give  the  names  of  the  difltrtnt  vi  ri- 
eties,  it  was  not  at  all  surprising  that  customers  would  say, 
"  Well,  I  think  I  will  have  a  quart;"  or,  "Why,  I  will  take 
two  quarts  of  those  great  big  ones,  if  you  give  heaping  measure 
like  that,"  etc.;  and  just  when  I  began  to  fear  there  were  more 
strawberries  than  we  could  easily  get  rid  of,  they  were  all  clean- 
ed up — in  fact  so  much  so  that  the  boys,  in  their  efforts  to  get  a 
few  more  quarts  for  a  customer,  picked  some  that  were  rathtr 
green.  Oh  how  the  new  varieties  have  brightened  up  and  en- 
larged since  the  rain ! 

This  year  we  are  testing  new  varieties,  as  I  have  explain- 
ed, by  putting  them  in  our  plant-beds  18  inches  apart.  This  is 
just  about  right;  and  if  you  do  not  step  on  the  beds  at  all  it 
gives  plenty  of  room  for  putting  down  runners.  It  is  wonder- 
fully interesting  to  me  to  note  the  peculiarities  and  desirable 
traits  in  the  different  candidates  for  public  favor.  For  instance, 
Clyde,  that  has  been  considerably  talked  about,  is  really  bearing; 
a  wonderful  crop — wonderful  considering  that  the  plants  were 
put  out  only  this  spring. 

Our  friend  Dan  White,  of  New  London,  O.,  told  me  he  is 
putting  out  an  acre  and  a  half  this  year  on  the  plan  I  gave  on 
page  117.  He  says  there  was  not  a  ripe  berry  to  be  found  among 
his  Gandys  up  to  June  22,  and  he  places  the  Gandy  as  the  latest 
berry  to  ripen  he  has  ever  found. 

By  the  way,  the  berry  that  I  was  so  pleased  with  last  year, 
and  that  came  as  the  Great  American  (see  p.  180),  I  am  obliged  to 
think  is  only  our  old  friend  Sharpless  under  another  name. 
The  berries  are  now  (June  22)  in  their  prime;  and  the  reason 
they  were  so  much  later  than  every  thing  else  last  year  was  on 
account  of  their  being  grown  in  such  a  thick  solid  bed.  The 
rank  foliage  and  the  close  planting  kept  the  *un  out  so  as  to 
make  the  berries  late.  Well,  even  if  it  is  the  Sharpless  the  in- 
cident has  opened  to  me  a  new  possibility  in  strawberry  culture. 
Make  your  ground  exceedingly  rich  (it  had  better  be  heavy  clay 
soil  underdrained),  then  let  the  plants  grow  all  over.  Let  thefti 
stand  just  as  thick  as  they  have  a  mind  to.  Perhaps  some  cur- 
rant bushes  or  something  of  the  sort  to  help  shade  the  ground 
will  assist  in  making  them  backward.  Now,  notwithstanding 
its  cramped  circumstances,  the  Sharpless,  after  all  other  berries 
are  gone,  will  produce  great  monstrous  fruit.  Of  course,  the 
berries  will  not  be  colored  up  very  much;  or  at  least  not  to 
amount  to  very  much;  but  the  Sharpless  is  very  nice  to  eat  when 
it  is  partly  ripe.  But  you  will  find  a  purchaser  at  good  prices 
while  other  berries  are  too  small  to  bother  with.  Besides,  such 


212          ABC  OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

a  plantation  would  be  little  or  no  trouble.     When  once  started 
it  would  choke  out  every  weed  that  attempts  to  grow. 

SUB-IRRIGATION  FOR  STRAWBERRIES;  AI,SO  SOMETHING  ABOUT 
POTATO  VINES  FOR  MULCHING  STRAWBERRIES. 

At  this  date,  June  26,  right  here,  we  are  having  a  pretty  se- 
vere drouth,  and  it  comes  almost  right  in  the  midst  of  our  straw- 
berry crop.  It  affects  us  worse  because  the  ground  was  packed 
down  so  hard  by  our  excessive  rainfalls  that  it  cracks  open  and 
(Joes  much  damage  except  where  the  surface  has  been  fined  up 
by  cultivation.  Our  choice  strawberries  that  were  planted  out 
late  last  fall,  and  which  are  in  narrow  rows,  we  have  cultivated 
and  fined  up  the  space  between  the  rows,  so  as  to  obviate  the 
drying  and  cracking,  at  least  as  much  as  we  could  without  in- 
terfering with  the  mulch.  The  mulch  of  straw  and  potato-tops 
is  not  sufficient  to  prevent  damage  entirely.  Our  berries  are 
drying  up,  the  greater  part  of  them,  and  look  as  if  they  had 
been  cooked.  Had  the  soil  been  worked  up  down  deep  after 
the  heavy  packing  rains,  the  damage  would  be  but  slight.  In 
fact,  corn  and  potatoes  planted  in  well  pulverized  ground  after 
the  rains  are  not  suffering  perceptibly.  We  have  just  had  an 
opportunity  of  testing  the  benefit  of  water  in  one  of  our  sub-irri- 
gating beds.  It  is  planted  to  strawberries,  but  no  water  was 
turned  on  during  the  spring.  I  purposely  left  the  bed  until  the 
berries  began  to  be  small  and  dried  up  somewhat.  Then  we 
turned  on  water  until  it  came  up  from  below,  so  as  to  dampen 
perceptibly  the  surface. 

In  48  hours  the  whole  aspect  of  the  bed  was  changed.  Ev- 
ery green  berry  began  to  fill  up  and  expand  wonderfully. 
Those  that  had  begun  to  shrivel,  plumped  out,  looked  very 
glossy  and  juicy,  and  they  were  juicy  too,  I  tell  you. 

There  has  been  considerable  said  about  selling  strawberries 
at  the  low  price  of  4  and  5  cts.  a  quart.  Well,  that  is  pretty  low; 
but  if  we  had  our  beds  so  arranged  that  we  could  water  them 
from  below,  letting  the  water  gradually  rise  up  until  it  comes 
just  near  enough  the  surface,  I  do  not  know  but  we  could  do  a 
pretty  good  thing  by  selling  water  at  4  or  5  cents  a  quart. 
Choice  varieties  like  the  Brandywine,  Wm.  Belt,  Marshall,  and 
others,  bring  6  and  7  cents  a  quart — sometimes  8. 

By  the  way,  the  latest  berry  to  ripen  on  our  ground  this 
season  is  the  Champion  of  England.  I  think  the  location  of  the 
bed,  however,  helped  to  make  it  late.  It  was  on  the  north  side 
of  a  grapevine-trellis,  and  protected  from  the  sun  pretty  well  all 
through  the  day;  then  it  was  mulched  with  potato-vines  last 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY  CULTURE.          213 

fall,  so  that  the  plants  had  to  creep  up  through  the  vines  to  get 
out  into  the  open  air.  This  helped  to  make  them  late.  This 
morning  we  made  our  first  picking.  A  good  many  of  the  finest 
berries  were  scattered  through  the  potato-vine  mulching.  The 
drouth  had  hurt  them  but  very  little,  and  the  great  clean  lus- 
cious berries  hidden  away  in  the  dried-up  potato-vines  were  in 
beautiful  shape.  To  get  berries  extra  early  they  should  be  in 
thin  rows,  or,  better  still,  in  hills,  and  we  should  work  the 
ground  without  any  mulching  until  just  before  the  fruit  rip- 
ens; but  for  a  very  late  berry,  heavy  mulching  is  needed  all 
through  the  spring  to  keep  them  back,  and  then  the  shade  of 
a  grapevine  or  of  trees  will  also  help.  This,  with  heavy  mat- 
ted rows,  will  enable  us  to  have  fine  large  berries  after  the  oth- 
ers are  gone;  and  my  impression  is,  that  sub-irrigation,  with 
the  water  let  on  at  just  the  right  time,  will  also  help  to  prolong 
the  crop. 


SOME  OF  THE  NEW  STRAWBERRIES— ONE   OF  MY  HAPPY  SUR- 
PRISES. 
From  Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture,  June  /,  1893. 

We  have  been  picking  strawberries  that  were  started  under 
glass,  for  a  month  or  more  ;  and  Earliest  and  Darling,  that 
were  not  under  glass  at  all,  for  the  past  three  or  four  days. 
The  Earliest  was  only  about  three  days  ahead  of  the  Darling. 
The  Darling  gives  rather  larger  berries.  On  account  of  the  hot 
weather  and  lack  of  sunshine,  both  are  rather  tart  this  season. 
Well,  my  happy  surprise  was  not  in  regard  to  the  Earliest  nor 
Darling  either,  but  it  was  in  finding  this  morning  some  great 
big  Nick  Ohmers,  not  red  on  one  side,  but  red  all  over,  and 
only  three  or  four  days  behind  the  Earliest  in  earliness — per- 
haps right  with  the  Darling  in  that  respect.  Bat  the  Nick  Oh- 
mer  is  ever  so  much  larger  than  either  of  them.  We  had  such 
a  call  for  plants  last  fall,  at  25  cts.  each,  that  we  did  not  save 
very  many  Nick  Ohmers.  In  fact,  there  is  only  one  bed,  con- 
taining about  50  plants,  and  these  were  put  out  very  late  in  the 
fall.  Of  course,  they  have  had  good  cultivation  and  plenty  of 
manure.  But  this  would  not  quite  account  for  their  being 
away  ahead  of  almost  every  thing  else  in  any  way  that  I  can 
see,  unless  it  is  in  being  extra  early.  Why,  an  acre  of  these 
great  big  berries,  large,  handsome,  and  earlier  than  any  other 


214  ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

large  berry  in  the  field,  would  be  worth  a  lot  of  money.  I 
would  give  something  to  be  able  to  present  to  the  readers  of 
Gleanings  a  picture  showing  the  Nick  Ohmers  as  they  stand  in 
that  bed  this  morning. 

Michel's  Early,  that  we  used  to  call  ahead  of  all  the  others, 
is  not  anywhere  near  ripening  at  the  present  time,  May  30  ; 
but,  to  tell  the  truth,  Michel's  Early  has  not  been  "fussed 
with  "  quite  as  much  as  these  newer  kinds — at  least,  not  this 
saason.  You  see,  I  want  to  be  honest  about  it. 

Now,  none  of  these  varieties  mentioned  is  likely  to  bear 
the  great  quantity  of  berries  that  some  of  the  later  ones  do — 
say  Haverland,  Warfield,  Parker  Earle,  and  last,  but  not  least, 
the  Clyde.  I  dp  not  believe  there  is  another  berry  on  our 
grounds  containing  such  great  heaps  of  green  ones  at  the  pres- 
ent time  as  the  Clyde  ;  and  I  notice  the  reports  are  now  greatly 
in  favor  of  the  Clyde  as  a  tremendous  bearer. 

ANOTHER   SURPRISE. 

Yes,  and  this  is  a  happy  one  too,  even  if  it  does  run  against 
the  one  above  somewhat.  On  page  175  I  gave  you  a  glimpse  of 
my  plan  of  hill  culture  for  strawberries.  Well,  in  order  to  test 
all  the  different  varieties  worked  in  this  way  we  have  to  put  in 
one  or  more  rows  of  all  the  kinds  we  could  get  hold  of ;  and  I 
am  watching  with  very  much  interest  the  behavior  of  the  differ- 
ent plants,  with  runners  kept  off,  and  constant  cultivation  in 
spring  as  well  as  fall.  Yesterday,  after  speaking  of  the  Nick 
Ohmer's  earliness,  I  went  up  through  that  hill  culture  patch  to 
see  how  the  others  were  behaving.  All  at  once  I  was  startled 
by  sesing  a  great  big  strawberry,  ripened  all  over,  then  another 
and  another,  until  I  noticed  there  were  six  rows  of  berries  with 
quite  a  good  many  ripe  ones  right  out  in  the  open  field.  Now, 
there  were  a  few  other  kinds  that  had  begun  to  turn  just  a  lit- 
tle, but  nothing  like  the  six  rows.  What  were  they  ?  Why,  as 
sure  as  you  live  it  was  our  old  friend  Rio.  Michel's  Early  was 
near  by  in  another  patch  in  a  matted  row,  but  there  was  not  one 
berry  colored  in  the  lot.  The  Earliest  and  Darling  had  just  be- 
gun to  color,  but  they  were  planted  rather  later  than  the  Rio  in 
the  same  patch.  I  really  do  not  know  why  the  Rio  should  be 
ahead  of  every  thing  else  in  hill  culture,  unless  such  constant 
stirring  of  the  ground  suited  the  Rio  better  than  it  did  any  of 
the  other  kinds.  That  is  not  quite  it  either,  for  the  other  kinds 
are  making  most  tremendous  growths  of  foliage  and  runners. 
Yes,  the  greater  part  of  them  are  putting  out  runners,  even  be- 
fore the  fruit  has  colored.  But  this  constant  cultivation  seems 


A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.          215 

to  have  hurried  the  Rio  forward,  and  did  not  the  others — not 
even  the  Earliest  and  Darling.  The  Rios  are  great  strong  thrifty 
plants,  with  stout  runners  already  out,  besides  a  very  fair 
crop  of  fruit  it  is  going  to  bear.  Now,  this  thing  illustrates  a 
point :  Under  a  special  system  of  cultivation  the  Rio  is  the  ear- 
liest good-sized  berry  we  know  of.  And  by  the  way,  friends, 
there  is  going  to  be  an  enormous  crop  of  berries  on  that  little 
plantation  put  out  last  fall.  They  were  all  potted  plants,  how- 
ever ;  or  if  not  potted  they  were  set  out  with  our  new  strawber- 
ry-transplanter that  I  have  described  and  illustrated  ;  and  this 
experiment  demonstrates  one  thing  to  my  satisfaction  :  With 
the  right  kind  of  culture  you  can  grow  an  enormous  crop  of 
berries  from  potted  plants  in  only  nine  or  ten  months  after  they 
occupy  the  ground. 


RECOMMENDING   NEW  VARIETIES  OF  STRAWBERRIES,  ETC. 

From  Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture,  April  i,  1899. 

You  may  remember  that,  some  little  time  ago,  in  visiting 
Matthew  Crawford,  he  showed  me  a  strawberry  of  such  wonder- 
ful luxuriance  of  foliage  that,  had  he  told  me  it  was  a  new  va- 
riety, and  very  scarce  and  high  priced,  I  do  not  know  but  I 
would  have  given  him  $5  00  for  a  single  plant.  But  friend 
Crawford  is  not  that  sort  of  man  ;  and  then  he  explained  to  me 
that  the  wonderful  growth  and  luxuriance  were  not  altogether 
on  account  of  the  plant,  but  in  the  way  he  prepared  the  soil  in 
that  one  bed.  It  was  light  sandy  soil,  made  very  rich  with  old 
stable  manure,  and  then  the  ground  was  pounded  as  hard  as  he 
could  make  it,  with  a  stamper,  something  like  what  we  use  in 
setting  fence  posts.  I  went  home  and  began  to  experiment  on 
some  of  our  plant-beds  that  had  been  manured  so  heavily  so 
many  years  that  they  contained  almost  too  much  humus.  We 
have  a  pounder  worked  by  two  men,  that  we  use  in  making  ce- 
ment floors  and  similar  work.  I  had  two  of  the  boys  stamp 
the  dirt  in  one  of  our  plant-beds  as  hard  as  they  could  pound 
it.  This  was  along  in  the  fall,  when  the  ground  was  dry,  and 
would  bear  such  pounding  without  injury. 

About  this  time  friend  Thompson  sent  me  half  a  dozen 
Darling  strawberry-plants,  and  I  think  as  many  of  the  Earliest ; 
also  some  Carrie.  As  he  called  these  varieties  all  valuable  I 


216          A  B  CROP   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

put  them  into  that  stamped  bed.  They  all  did  wonderfully 
well,  especially  the  Darling.  In  watching  the  new  plants  I  fear 
I  forgot  somewhat  the  stamped  bed,  and  gave  the  credit  to  the 
new  varieties  At  the  same  time  I  began  experimenting  with 
plants  potted  in  jadoo  fiber,  and  a  great  number  of  them  were 
sent  as  premiums  to  our  subscribers.  The  next  spring  these 
six  Darling  plants  gave  a  nice  lot  of  beautiful  berries,  away 
ahead  of  any  thing  else  unless  it  was  the  Earliest ;  and  without 
thinking  much  about  it  I  helped  to  boom  the  Darling,  which 
the  originator  held  at  a  very  high  price.  Now,  I  have  been 
greatly  disappointed  because  we  have  not  had  more  favorable 
reports  of  the  Darling.  In  fact,  on  that  account  I  have  drop- 
ped it  from  our  list  of  strawberries.  Margaret  and  Nick  Oh- 
mer  were  also  set  in  a  pounded  bed,  and  they  both  made  an  im- 
mense growth,  and  produced  wonderful  berries.  I  have  been 
putting  all  of  my  new  varieties  in  pounded  beds,  because,  when 
one  is  anxious  to  get  as  many  plants  as  he  can,  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible, he  must  furnish  the  best  of  conditions  ;  and  not  all  plants 
will  pay  him  so  much  better  in  highly  fertilized  and  compact 
beds  than  they  do  in  the  open  field.  After  I  put  the  Darling 
and  Earliest  in  the  open  field  and  gave  them  the  same  chance 
as  the  other  varieties  they  have  been  very  disappointing  in  our 
locality.  I  learn  from  others,  though,  further  south,  that  in 
some  places  they  do  well. 

From  this  I  have  been  learning  a  lesson  :  We  should  be 
careful,  each  and  all  of  us,  about  recommending  a  new  plant 
before  we  have  given  it  field  culture  right  along  with  the 
others. 


SEIZING  STRAWBERRY-PLANTS. 
From  Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture,  May  /,  1899. 

Now,  a  happy  surprise  conies  along  in  the  line  of  selling 
strawberry-plants.  You  know  I  talked  to  you  last  year  about 
my  handsome  plantation  of  strawberries  with  the  plants  only 
two  feet  apart  from  center  to  center.  These  were  cultivated 
three  different  ways  with  the  wheel-hoe;  and  the  original  idea 
was  to  keep  the  runners  cut  off.  There  was  about  half  an  acre 
of  the  patch.  It  was  well  manured  before  the  plants  were  put 
out  in  the  fall  of  1897.  Then  old  well- composted  manure,  brok- 
en up  fine,  was  scattered  all  through  the  patch  with  wheelbar- 


A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  217 

rows  once  or  twice  last  season.  In  consequence  of  the  strong 
manure  and  abundant  rains  last  fall,  the  plants  put  out  runners 
and  covered  the  whole  ground.  It  was  not  a  matted  row,  ex- 
actly, but  it  was  a  matted  half  acre.  Well,  these  plants  all 
wintered  without  any  mulch  whatever,  and  not  a  plant  was  lift- 
ed out  by  the  frost.  Why,  the  whole  plantation  looked  more 
like  a  thrifty  field  of  clover  than  a  strawberry -patch.  The  prob- 
lem this  spring  was  to  provide  paths  for  the  pickers;  for  the  ber- 
ries will  probably  lie  almost  touching  each  other  all  over  the 
half  acre.  More  than  half  the  plants  are  Brandywine  and  Wm. 
Belt. 

I  advertised  in  the  county  papers  that,  if  people  would 
come  with  baskets,  and  take  the  plants  that  were  taken  out  in 
order  to  make  paths  for  the  pickers,  they  might  have  them  at 
half  the  regular  prices;  and  the  thing  is  going  on  just  as  I  write, 
in  a  way  that  makes  it  another  happy  surprise. 

Where  a  path  was  wanted  we  stretched  two  stout  cords. 
These  cords  are  18  inches  apart.  Then  a  man  takes  a  sharp 
spade  and  cuts  down  along  each  cord.  After  this  he  takes  a 
spading-fork  and  spades  up  a  block  of  dirt,  plants  and  all;  then 
with  a  stout  box  to  sit  on  (open  on  one  side,  about  16  inches  square 
and  6  inches  high),  he,  sitting  astride  the  path,  separates  the 
plants  from  the  dirt  and  puts  them  in  the  customer's  basket. 
These  plants  are  about  the  strongest  and  thriftiest  I  ever  grew. 
Where  they  are  too  near  together,  of  course  there  will  be  some 
small  ones;  but  these  small  ones  are  thrown  in  without  charge, 
and  our  customer  can  use  them  or  not  as  he  chooses. 

Now,  if  all  the  plants  are  sold  at  half  the  advertised  prices, 
our  half-acre  of  strawberries  will  produce  quite  a  round  sum  of 
money.  But  there  has  been  a  good  deal  of  labor  bestowed  on  it 
in  the  way  of  weeding,  cultivation,  etc.  After  the  berries  are 
picked,  the  whole  patch  will  probably  be  plowed  up  and  plant- 
ed to  potatoes;  and  with  the  amount  of  manuring  it  has  had,  I 
expect  a  wonderful  crop  of  potatoes. 

There  has  been  a  good  deal  of  fault  found  in  regard  to  fall 
planting;  but  this  plantation  was  all  made  in  the  fall.  The 
plants  were,  however,  put  in  with  a  transplanter.  They  were 
manured  and  cultivated  and  weeded  during  one  whole  season — 
that  is,  last  year.  A  small  crop  of  extra-nice  berries  was  taken 
from  them  last  June.  With  this  method  of  working  strawber- 
ries they  occupy  the  ground  not  quite  two  years.  We  would 
commence  planting  them,  if  the  ground  were  vacant,  in  August, 
and  in  our  locality  the  ground  would  be  ready  to  put  in  a  crop 
of  potatoes  about  the  first  of  July;  so  it  would  lack  about  one 


218          ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

month  of  having  the  strawberries  on  the  ground  two  years.     Of 
course,  I  do  not  know  what  the  crop  before  us  is  going  to  be.  * 


THE  EARUEST  STRAWBERRY. 
From  Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture,  June  /,  1899. 

To-day,  May  30,  we  are  making  about  our  first  picking  in 
the  open  field;  and  the  Earliest,  as  before,  stands  a  good  way 
ahead  of  any  thing  else.  On  our  grounds  we  find  it  even  ahead 
of  Darling;  but  the  originator  thinks  Darling  is  a  little  the  earli- 
er of  the  two.  I  am  surprised  this  season  to  find  the  Earliest 
bearing  good -sized  berries,  and  they  are  growing  in  a  thick  mat- 
ted row  at  that.  It  does  not  give  as  many  berries  as  the  later 
ones,  and  they  are  pretty  strongly  acid  in  flavor,  and  perhaps 
rather  soft  to  handle.  But  they  give  us  quite  a  lot  of  berries 
two  or  three  days  before  any  thing  else.  L/ast  year  the  Rio  crowd- 
ed close  on  the  Earliest ;  but  this  year  they  are  more  behind. 
Now,  another  thing  must  be  taken  into  consideration:  Rich  soil 
and  close  planting  makes  berries  later.  Right  alongside  our 
row  of  Earliest  are  some  Warfields.  On  good  ground  none  of 
the  Warfields  are  ripe;  but  on  a  little  piece  of  yellow  ground 
where  the  top  soil  had  been  removed,  the  ground  is  so  poor  that 
the  plants  are  scattering,  and  small  at  that.  Here  the  sun  had 
got  in,  and  we  found  quite  a  lot  of  dark  garnet-like  Warfields 
glistening  through  the  dew-drops  in  the  morning  sunshine. 
You  can  make  any  berry  earlier  by  putting  it  on  poor  ground 
and  having  the  plants  far  apart  so  the  sun  can  get  in  easily.  I 
thought  once  we  would  not  plant  any  more  Earliest,  as  they  bear 
so  few  berries;  but  I  have  just  given  the  boys  orders  to  put  down 
the  runners  around  the  edge  of  the  patch,  and  before  we  get 
ready  to  plow  them  up  we  shall  have  plants  enough  to  make  a 
row  or  two  for  next  year;  and  the  plants  must  be  thinned  out  and 
given  room  if  you  want  Earliest  to  be  extra  early. 

*  At  this  date,  Jan.  23,  1902,  I  am  happy  to  state  that  the  crop  referred 
to  in  the  above  was  one  of  the  largest  yields  per  acre  I  ever  had  in  my  life. 
Some  of  the  berries,  and  especially  the  Brandywine,  were  as  nice  and  fine 
as  any  thing  we  ever  picked.  The  Brandywine  pushed  its  great  clusters  of 
beautiful  berries  clear  above  the  foliage;  and  it  was  for  all  the  world  like  a 
field  of  red  clover,  except  that  the  red  heads  were  berries  instead  of  clover. 


ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY    CULTURE.  219 


THE   STRAWBERRY   INDUSTRY   NEAR   NORFOLK,  VA. 

From  Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture \  June  75,  1899. 

These  truckers  have  a  sort  of  rotation  in  garden  stuff.  For 
instance,  potatoes  are  grown  mostly  between  strawberries,  <  r, 
rather,  strawberries  are  grown  mostly  between  potatoes.  Tte 
rows  of  potatoes  are  five  feet  apart  in  this  case,  and  a  row  of 
strawberries  is  put  between  every  two  rows  of  potatoes  ;  and, 
j  udging  from  appearance,  they  are  set  in  about  as  soon  as  the 
potatoes  come  up.  The  small-footed  mules  pull  their  light  cul- 
tivators between  the  rows,  only  30  inches  apart,  without  any 
trouble.  I  believe  they  are  rather  better  than  horses,  because 
they  rarely  or  never  step  on  the  plants.  After  the  potatoes  are 
marketed,  then  the  strawberries  have  the  whole  of  the  ground. 
To  give  you  some  idea  of  the  strawberry  business  at  Norfolk,  I 
make  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  irom  friend  Stebbins  : 

Saturday  afternoon,  at  the  back  of  one  of  our  steamboat  wharves  I  count- 
ed 17  sail-boats  unloading  strawberries  at  once,  while  others  were  in  sight 
coming  in  to  unload,  and  still  others  going  out  unloaded.  At  the  front  was 
a  string  of  teams  a  quarter  of  a  mile  long,  waiting  their  turn  to  unload. 
Three  teams  could  unload  at  once,  and  I  don't  think  it  took  more  than 
five  or  six  minutes  to  the  three  teams.  In  going  a  mile  I  counted  15  more 
teams  coming  in,  all  loaded  with  berries ;  that  was  at  half-past  three,  and 
that  sort  of  thing  would  keep  up  until  six  or  half-past.  Now,  that  is  only 
one  of  half  a  dozen  lines  in  town  at  the  same  business.  You  could  smell 
strawberries  for  half  a  mile.  JOHN  W.  STEBBINS. 

Broad  Creek,  Va.,  May  15. 

At  the  time  I  arrived,  the  strawberry -gathering  had  come 
to  a  sudden  stop,  not  because  the  berries  were  £•#«£,  mind  you, 
but  because  the  price  had  dropped  to  a  point  where  it  did  not 
pay  to  pick  them.  In  Norfolk  they  pay  two  cents  a  quart  to 
the  pickers.  Then  they  have  to  furnish  crates  and  boxes  ;  and 
at  the  price  offered,  only  three  cents,  it  did  not  pay  for  harvest- 
ing. So  the  owners  of  the  fields,  even  while  the  rows  were  red 
with  berries,  gave  out  to  the  country  all  around  that  whoever 
chose,  colored  or  white,  could  come  and  pick,  without  money 
and  without  price,  all  they  wished.  We  found  colored  people 
scattered  all  over  the  fields,  picking  ;  others  walking  into  town 
with  crates  of  berries  on  their  heads.  They  went  through  the 
town  offering  them  at  the  houses  for  only  three  cents  a  quart. 
As  the  berries  cost  them  nothing,  they  did  perhaps  very  well  at 
the  work  ;  but  it  seemed  to  me  to  be  rather  discouraging  busi- 
ness for  the  grower. 

In  some  places  we  found  the  pickers  scrambling  out  of  the 


220          ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

way  of  the  horses  and  plows.  They  were  turning  the  berries 
under  in  order  to  get  in  another  crop  without  letting  the  expen- 
sive land  lie  idle.  Friend  Stebbins  says  he  has  seen  berries 
turned  under  when  there  were  enough  to  make  the  red  juice 
follow  the  plow  as  it  crushed  them  in  the  furrow.  Three  of 
his  family  went  out  the  evening  before,  and  in  three  hours  they 
gathered  70  quarts  in  one  of  these  deserted  fields. 

One  gardener  whom  we  called  on  (Mr.  Henry  Norfleet)  had 
about  half  an  acre  of  -Lady  Thompsons.  There  had  been  scarce- 
ly any  berries  picked  from  the  field  when  the  price  went  down. 
I  do  not  know  that  I  ever  saw  more  ripe  berries  on  a  given  area 
at  one  time.  Some  of  them  were  really  overripe — large  and 
luscious.  Nobody  wanted  them  as  a  free  gift.  We  had  been 
eating  berries  all  day— at  least  I  had — but  we  felt  so  sorry  to 
see  these  wasting  that  we  ate  a  good  many  more.  The  Lady 
Thompson  is  certainly  a  very  fine  berry  in  the  South.  It  is 
hard  for  the  growers,  it  is  true  ;  but  yet  it  certainly  is  a  great 
blessing  to  a  community  to  have  berries  so  cheap  that  all  can 
have  all  they  want,  morning,  noon,  and  night.  I  asked  some 
of  the  growers  if  they  proposed  to  keep  right  on  raising  straw- 
berries They  said  there  was  no  other  way  to  do,  and  that  they 
frequently  had  to  make  the  best  of  a  glut  in  the  market  in  al- 
most all  kinds  of  produce  ;  but  the  man  who  keeps  right  on 
growing  good  crops  is  pretty  sure,  sooner  or  later,  to  have  some- 
thing to  sell  when  the  price  is  good  and  everybody  wants  it. 

I  had  just  one  chance  to  see  strawberry-picking  going  on 
in  the  regular  business  way.  Mr.  Trotman  had  received  intel- 
ligence from  Boston  that  berries  were  up  to  12  cents,  and,  in 
fact,  I  believe  he  had  kept  picking  right  along.  You  see  when 
the  fields  are  once  abandoned  they  can  not  very  well  start  again, 
because  rotten  or  overripe  berries  would  get  among  the  good 
ones  in  spite  of  the  pickers;  therefore  the  proprietor  of  a  straw- 
berry-field must  keep  the  pickers  going  till  he  decides  to  stop, 
and  then  he  must  stop  for  good.  When  I  saw  the  pickers  in 
the  field  I  said  to -friend  Stebbins,  "  There  must  be  very  nearly 
a  hundred  people  who  are  gathering  berries."  I  have  been  so 
much  in  the  habit  of  estimating  the  number  of  hives  in  an  api- 
ary by  simply  a  casual  glance  that  I  thought  I  could  guess  pret- 
ty nearly  at  the  number  of  people  scattered  through  the  patch. 
Friend  Stebbins  counted  them,  and  reported  104.  There  were 
all  sorts  of  people — big  and  little,  old  and  young,  black  and 
white  ;  but  for  all  that,  every  thing  seemed  to  go  on  very  har- 
moniously and  quietly.  Little  colored  boys,  who  seemed  hard- 
ly big  enough  to  carry  a  quart  of  berries,  would  march  in  with 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  221 

a  tray  on  their  heads,  and  offer  their  filled  quart  boxes  and  get 
their  tickets.  Some  of  them  did  not  have  very  elaborate  cloth' 
ing,  but  they  always  arranged  to  have  a  pocket  that  would  car" 
ry  their  tickets  safely.  A  smart  colored  man  received  the  box- 
es on  a  sort  of  counter,  letting  the  picker  take  his  tray  back  to 
the  field.  The  proprietor's  son  was  stationed  near  by  with 
tickets  of  different  values  stowed  in  handy  pockets  ;  and  he  al- 
ways had  the  proper  ticket  or  tickets  to  hand  out  just  as  soon 
as  the  picker  was  ready  to  go  back. 

We  happened  to  be  there  just  as  the  dinner-bell  sounded, 
and  it  was  a  treat  to  me  to  see  that  motley  crowd  come  in.  God 
knows  I  am  interested  in  human  beings  as  well  as  in  strawber- 
ries ;  and  I  was  greatly  pleased  to  see  the  pleasant  feeling  that 
seemed  to  exist  between  employer  and  employee.  Friend  Trot- 
man  pays  two  cents  a  quart  right  through  for  picking  the  ber- 
ries. He  said  it  was  a  little  more  than  some  others  paid,  but 
he  liked  to  have  his  workmen  satisfied.  I  asked  him  where  he 
found  his  most  expert  pickers — among  the  men,  women,  or 
children.  He  said  a  colored  widow  woman  and  her  two  little 
bits  of  children  (it  might  have  been  three)  were  about  the  best 
pickers  he  had  in  his  employ.  He  said  he  had  recently  paid 
her  $23  in  cash  for  one  week's  work  for  herself  and  children. 
Some  of  those  little  colored  boys  and  girls  were  remarkably 
quick  and  handy  at  the  business.  You  see  it  is  not  so  much 
work  for  them  to  double  up  and  stoop  over  as  it  is  for  older  peo- 
ple. In  the  rush  at  noon  time  it  was  almost  impossible  to  pre- 
vent some  confusion  and  disorder.  I  was  pleased  to  see  Mr 
Trotman  gently  reprove  a  colored  man  for  tramping  on  a  good 
new  berry-box.  Somebody  tipped  them  over,  and  in  the  hurry 
to  get  ready  for  dinner  they  were  not  picked  up.  The  man  put 
his  foot  on  a  nice  clean  box.  Now,  the  value  of  these  boxes  is 
not  much  over  a  quarter  of  a  cent  each  ;  but  letting  the  people 
trample  the  boxes  under  foot,  even  if  they  represent  only  a 
small  value,  establishes  a  bad  precedent. 


A   STRAWBERRY  FESTIVAL    NEAR    XENIA,  GREENE    CO.,  OHIO. 

From  Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture  July  75,  1899. 

The  gathering  of  bee-keepers  and   strawberry -growers  was 
in  a  grove  surrounding  a  schoolhouse.     The  friends  of  the  year 


222          A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

before  were  present,  and  we  were  also  honored  by  the  presence 
of  Mr.  Nick  Ohmer  himself,  and  his  good  wife ;  and  last,  but 
not  least,  his  brother,  J.  P.  Ohmer,  was  on  hand.  The  latter 
brought  a  Nick  Ohmer  strawberry-plant  growing  in  a  tub.  I 
thought  I  had  seen  some  gigantic  specimens  of  Nick  Ohmer 
strawberries  and  fruit  on  our  own  place  ;  but  that  plant  in  the 
tub  "broke  the  record,"  in  foliage,  size  ,of  leaf,  and  size  of 
fruit.  Three  or  four  great  stems  of  fruit,  almost  as  large  as 
peaches,  reclined  on  the  edges  of  the  tub,  and  made  a  very  ap- 
propriate object-lesson  in  letting  people  know  the  possibilities 
of  strawberry  -  growing.  A  quart  of  berries  stood  beside  the 
plant,  showing  twelve  berries  making  a  heaping  boxful.  Some 
of  you  will  no  doubt  recall  to  mind  the  fact  that  J.  P.  Ohmer 
is  the  man  who  grows  strawberries  successfully  through  the 
sides  of  a  barrel.  He  told  us  that,  although  the  barrel  cul- 
ture was  a  success,  the  average  person  would  probably  be  un- 
willing to  take  the  necessary  pains  to  make  it  a  success. 


GROWING  STRAWBERRIES   IN   A   BARREL. 

From  Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture,  Aug.  i,  1899. 

As  there  has  been  considerable  inquiry  in  regard  to  this 
matter,  Mr.  J.  P.  Ohmer,  of  Dayton,  Ohio,  the  originator  of 
the  plan,  has  sent  out  a  little  circular  describing  the  process. 
Here  it  is : 

Take  any  iron-bound  barrel  except  those  which  have  been  used  for 
pickels,  sauerkraut,  or  vinegar  ;  take  all  hoops  off  but  four ;  bore  four  holes 
in  the  bottom.  Then  space  holes  around  the  barrel  so  that  twelve  plants 
will  go  around  it.  Five  rows  high  will  make  sixty  plants  to  the  barrel 
(the  fifth  row  can  be  placed  five  inches  from  top  of  barrel).  Bore  two 
holes,  one  above  the  other,  and  cut  out  the  wood  between  the  two  holes. 
By  using  a  bit  1^  inches,  you  will  have  a  hole  1}£  by  3  inches.  When  you 
plant,  put  the  plants  as  near  the  top  of  the  holes  as  possible,  to  allow 
some  for  settling.  Use  clay  ground,  well  mixed  with  rotten  manure.  Put 
two  inches  of  gravel  in  the  bottom  of  the  barrel  to  keep  the  drain-holes 
from  getting  stopped  up.  Put  in  the  dirt  till  about  three  inches  above  the 
first  row  of  holes.  Be  careful  to  have  dirt  not  too  wet. 

The  first  row  of  holes  must  be  8  inches  from  the  bottom  of  the  barrel. 
Get  in  and  tramp  the  dirt  solid,  then  loosen  the  dirt  with  a  trowel  where 
the  plants  go  ;  then  plant  that  row.  Spread  the  roots  out  well,  then  put 
dirt  about  half  way  up  to  the  next  row  of  holes;  then  take  a  .common 
drain-tile,  12  inches  long  by  3  or  4  inches  in  diameter  ;  put  it  in  the  center 
of  the  barrel,  and  fill  the  tile  with  coarse  sand  ;  then  fill  up  the  bartel  with 
dirt  a  little  above  the  next  row  of  holes  ;  tramp  again.  Be  careful  not  to 
move  the  tile.  Cover  up  the  tile,  so  as  not  to  get  any  dirt  in  it.  After 


ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  223 

planting  the  second  row,  lift  the  tile.  See  that  the  sand  settles,  then  fill 
the  tile  with  sand  again,  then  put  in  dirt  above  the  next  row  of  holes  ; 
tramp  again,  and  plant  that  row,  and  repeat  the  operation  until  the  five 
rows  are  planted.  But  don't  fail  to  tramp. 

.  After  you  are  done  planting,  the  tile  remains  in  the  barrel;  have  it 
empty,  so  as  to  take  the  water.  In  watering,  you  water  in  the  tile  for  the 
lower  rows  ;  on  top  of  the  barrel  for  the  two  top  rows.  It  would  be  im- 
possible to  water  the  lower  plants  without  the  tile  and  the  core  of  sand. 
You  can  water  the  plants  too  much.  Fill  the  tile  once  per  day,  and  put 
about  two  quarts  of  water  on  the  outside  of  tile.  After  cold  weather  sets 
in,  we  quit  watering.  They  want  no  winter  protection.  Set  the  barrel  on 
bricks,  to  keep  it  off  the  ground.  If  any  should  die  in  the  summer,  you 
can  replant  them  by  taking  a  runner  and  putting  the  young  plant  in  the 
hole,  and  stick  it  fast  with  two  little  sticks. 

Use  the  largest  fruiting  vaiiety  that  does  well  in  your  locality,  and  per- 
fect-blooming sort,  if  possible.  Planted  early  in  the  spring,  you  may  ex- 
pect a  fair  crop  the  same  season.  Paint  barrel  any  light  color,  for  con- 
trast. 

After  hearing  Mr.  Ohmer  describe  the  barrel  at  the  horti- 
cultural meeting,  he  added  that  no  one  had  better  undertake  it 
unless  he  could  attend  carefully  to  all  the  details,  for  a  little 
neglect  in  watering  will  ruin  the  whole  thing  very  quickly. 
Such  a  barrel  is  too  heavy  to  carry  indoors.  It  must  be  winter- 
ed right  in  the  open  air.  S'/mebody  asked  him  if  it  needed 
turning  around  so  the  sun  could  get  at  all  sides.  Mr.  O.  told 
us  if  we  would  get  up  early  enough  in  the  morning  we  might 
see  that  the  sun  goes  clear  atound  the  barrel,  from  morning  till 
night,  and  actually  laps  over  quite  a  piece.  No  turning  around 
is  necessary.  You  can  get  the  finest  strawberries  in  the  world 
by  the  barrel  plan,  and  more  bushels  to  the  acre,  that  is,  if  you 
had  an  acre  covered  with  the  strawberry-barrels,  than  you  could 
possibly  get  by  any  other  plan. 

OUR  NEWER  STRAWBERRIES. 

Although  I  have  again  and  again  declared  I  did  not  want 
our  list  of  strawberries  made  any  larger  unless  for  some  ex- 
ceedingly good  reason,  I  find  at  least  some  of  the  new  ones  I 
have  seen  in  bearing  for  the  first  time  that  promise  very  favora- 
bly. The  first  is  the  Ridgeway  ;  and  if  it  will  grow  on  my  own 
grounds  as  I  saw  it  on  Wilbur  Fenn's,  at  Tallmadge,  O.,  I  shall 
certainly  give  it  a  place.  The  plant  is  a  remarkably  strong, 
robust  grower.  The  berries  ripen  a  little  late,  but  are  remark- 
able for  their  size,  beauty  of  shape,  and  for  the  fact  that  they 
stand  away  up  above  the  foliage  and  out  of  the  dirt.  Every 
berry  seems  to  be  as  perfect,  almost,  as  if  it  were  turned  in  a 
lathe.  In  this  respect  it  resembles  the  old  Cumberland  Tri- 
umph. Now,  this  is  the  way  it  behaves  on  cousin  Fenn's 


224  ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

grounds.     Most  of  us  are  beginning  to  learn  that  the  berry  that 
does  well  in  one  locality  may  not  in  another,  even  near  by. 

The  second  one  I  wish  to  call  attention  to  is  the  Empress, 
just  brought  out  by  Matthew  Crawford.  I  visited  his  plate 
when  most  of  the  strawberries  were  gone,  and  the  dry  weather 
was  fast  using  up  the  late  ones.  The  Empress,  however,  had  a 
magnificent  growth  of  foliage,  and  green  berries  and  ripe  ones 
were  both  in  great  abundance.  When  I  suggested  it  was  a  late 
berry,  friend  Crawford  said  it  commenced  ripening  quite  early, 
on  the  contrary.  I  know  the  plant  is  a  tremendously  strong 
and  robust  grower,  because  we  have  it  on  our  own  grounds. 
Now,  if  it  bears  everywhere  else  as  it  does  at  Matthew  Craw- 
ford's place,  it  is  certainly  remarkable,  because  it  holds  out 
"  head  and  shoulders  "  above  any  thing  else. 


The  above  ends  our  extracts  from  Gleanings  in  Bee  Cul- 
ture; but  I  have  something  to  say  before  closing  my  book  about 
several  matters  concerning  the  work  of  the  past  twelve  years. 
First,  in  regard  to 

MULCHING  AND  MANURING  STRAWBERRIES  AT   ONE   AND  THE 
SAME  TIME — SEE  PAGE  205. 

Since  that  chapter  was  written  I  have  reason  to  put  in  a 
caution  here.  If  all  the  seeds  in  stable  manure  would  ger- 
minate right  off,  so  they  could  be  plowed  under  and  killed  that 
season,  it  would  be  all  right ;  but,  unfortunately,  the  seeds  of 
many  of  our  worst  weeds  will  lie  in  the  ground  for  years,  and 
keep  coming,  part  one  year,  part  the  next,  and  so  on.  The 
worst  manure  to  fill  the  ground  with  noxious  weeds  I  have  ever 
found  is  that  from  livery  stables.  If  the  manure  you  use  were 
made  on  your  own  premises,  and  you  know  exactly  what  is  put 
into  the  manure  heap,  you  are  all  right ;  or  if  it  comes  from 
the  stable  or  barnyard  of  some  good  thrifty  farmer  who  does 
not  let  weeds  go  to  seed,  you  are  all  right  ;  but  where  hay,  and, 
worse  still,  the  bedding  comes  from  Tom,  Dick,  and  Harry,  if 
you  will  excuse  the  slang,  then  a  few  loads  of  stable  manure 
may  seed  your  land  to  such  an  extent  that  it  will  make  you  no 
end  of  trouble  for  years  to  come.  See  page  155. 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.  225 


MARKING  OUT  THE   GROUND   FOR  STRAWBERRIES  AND  OTHER 
GARDEN     CROPS. 

A  great  many  people  grow  strawberries  who  do  not  keep  a 
horse  ;  and  there  are  other  people,  who  have  a  horse  part  of  the 
time;  and,  in  fact,  wherever  a  man  can  take  the  place  of  a 
horse  in  any  operation  of  gardening,  especially  in  small  gar- 
dens, it  is  oftentimes  exceedingly  desirable  to  do  so.  The  pic- 
ture below  tells  how  this  may  be  done  where  only  a  mark  is 


MARKING   OUT     THE   GROUND     BY     MEN  OR   BOYS   INSTEAD   OF 
HORSES. 

needed,  not  a  furrow.  The  cut  and  description  first  appeared 
in  that  old  standard  periodical,  the  Country  Gentleman,  as  long 
ago  as  1864. 

It  consists  of  a  light  pole  with  trace  chains  suspended  from  it,  at  dis- 
tances for  each  row,  or  3  or  3^  feet  apart,  as  may  be  desired.  Two  men 
take  the  pole  near  each  end,  and  one  of  them,  acting  as  a  guide,  and  rang- 
ing accurately,  they  walk  forward,  dragging  the  chains  in  the  soil,  mak- 
ing a  fine  smooth  line  for  each  chain.  The  figure  represents  only  five 
chains.  Six  or  seven  may  be  employed  without  inconvenience,  and  the 
field  marked  off  with  great  rapidity.  Two  men,  or  a  man  and  a  boy,  will 
mark  2%  acres  in  walking  a  mile. 

Permit  me  to  suggest  that,  especially  for  strawberry-work, 
the  machine  may  be  made  very  much  lighter,  and  equally  ef- 
fective, by  using  only  a  few  links  of  the  chain  to  drag  on  the 
ground,  and  connecting  the  chairs  to  the  pole  by  means  of  a 
cord  or  wire.  The  cut  above  was  intended  for  marking  potato 
ground  ;  in  fact,  it  is  almost  the  only  marker  used  in  the  Trav- 
erse region  in  Michigan,  where  they  plant  almost  entirely  with 
the  hand  potato-planter  described  in  our  new  book,  the  ABC 
of  Potato  Culture.  They  usually  mark  both  ways,  as  the  po- 

15 


226          ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY    CULTURE. 

tatoes  are  cultivated  both  ways.  Now,  where  we  want  to  do 
marking  like  that  described  on  pages  174  and  177,  this  machine 
is  by  all  means  the  best  arrangement  that  can  be  used.  It  is 
especially  the  thing  where  there  is  an  obstruction  in  the  way, 
such  as  stumps  or  trees,  as  in  working  new  land.  A  bright 
young  friend  of  mine — a  girl  of  fourteen — remarked  that  the 
picture  was  not  just  right.  She  said  that,  on  their  farm,  it 
should  show  a  boy  at  one  end  of  the  pole  and  a  girl  at  the  oth- 
er, and  that  she  was  that  girl.  This  is  a  hint  for  the  strawber- 
ry-grower as  well  as  the  farmer.  Now,  if  you  are  going  to 
have  children  use  this  implement,  every  thing  should  be  as 
light  about  it  as  possible  and  still  have  it  do  the  work.  I  would 
have  a  pole  made  of  light  pine,  largest  in  the  middle,  tapering 
at  both  ends.  Have  notches  cut  at  regular  distances,  so  jou 
can  slip  the  cords  as  required  for  different  crops. 

For  working  in  a  small  garden  it  may  be  well  to  have  poles 
of  different  lengths.  Two  men -with  a  long  pole  will  easily 
make  seven  marks  at  once  far  enough  apart  for  planting  pot  a 
toes.  With  cross-marking,  as  on  page  174,  you  can  slip  the 
strings  any  distance  apart  that  may  be  needed.  This  imple- 
ment does  not  make  a  furrow,  or  not  much  of  one.  By  using 
links  from  a  log-chain,  especially  if  the  ground  is  fine  and  soft, 
quite  a  small  furrow  may  be  made.  Where  chains  are  not  at 
hand,  a  drag- tooth  or  any  heavy  piece  of  iron  answers  nearly 
as  well.  The  chain,  however,  would  be  less  likely  to  get 
caught,  and  would  more  easily  slip  around  obstacles. 


JADOO  FIBER,  A  SUBSTITUTE  FOR  POTTING  SOII,  FOR  FLORISTS. 
This  article  for  growing  plants  first  made  its  appearance  in 
America  in  1896  or  '97.  It  was  manufactured  and  offered  for 
sale  by  the  Jadoo  Fiber  Co. ,  Philadelphia.  I  believe  it  was  used 
previously  in  European  countries.  Our  readers  will  notice  I 
have  mentioned  it  frequently  in  the  foregoing  extracts  from 


A  B  C  OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.          227 

Gleanings  in  Bee  Culture.  I  was  much  attracted  by  it  when  it 
first  came  out,  and  made  quite  a  lot  of  experiments  with  it  in 
our  greenhouse  for  growing  various  plants.  Later  I  used  it  for 
filling  the  pots  for  growing  potted  strawberry-plants.  Now,  if 
I  am  correct,  florists  in  general  have  not  taken  very  kindly  to 
it.  Some  of  them  recommend  it  as  an  ingredient  for  potting- 
soils.  Very  few  adopted  it  as  recommended  by  manufacturers 
as  an  entire  substitute  for  potting-soil ;  but  for  the  strawberry- 
grower  who  grows  and  ships  potted  plants  it  has  one  great 
thing  to  recommend  it.  This  is  that  the  plant,  soil  and  all,  in 
which  the  root  is  growing,  weighs  only  about  a  half  or  perhaps 
a  fourth  as  much  as  the  heaviest  potting-soil.  In  fact,  beauti- 
ful growing  plants  can  be  sent  by  mail,  and  the  entire  contents 
of  the  pot  undisturbed,  for  less  than  one  cent  per  plant  for 
postage.  This  could  not  be  done  with  any  kind  of  soil  or  dirt. 
Jadoo  is  exceedingly  light,  and  it  will  hold  water  longer  than 
almost  any  thing  else  I  know  of.  I  do  not  now  understand 
why  it  is  that  florists  do  not  recognize  this  fact,  and  send  valu- 
able plants  by  mail  or  express,  rooted  in  jadoo  fiber.  I  for  one 
was  very  sorry  when  the  Jadoo  Co.  went  out  of  business,  and  I 
have  never  been  able  to  find  out  why  it  is  no  longer  on  the  mar- 
ket. The  article  is  simply  a  very  nice  light  muck  or  peat  from 
swamps,  sterilized  by  being  boiled  in  certain  chemicals  ;  and 
those  chemicals,  they  claim,'  are  a  fertilizing  agent.  A  compost 
of  swamp  muck  or  peat  and  old  well-rotted  stable  manure 
would,  I  think,  answer  as  well ;  and  our  Ohio  Experiment  Sta- 
tion thinks  it  is  even  better  than  jadoo.  Jadoo  was  sold  at 
wholesale  for  from  $15  to  $20  a  ton.  Now,  an  excellent  com- 
post of  old  manure  (perhaps  cow  manure  would  be  better), 
and  some  very  light  peat,  could  easily  be  furnished,  I  think, 
for  $10  a  ton  ;  and  it  seems  to  me  there  is  an  almost  unlimited 
demand  for  such  an  article — not  only  for  potting  strawberries 
but  for  the  benefit  of  everybody  who  grows  house-plants.  I 
know  our  florists  advertise  potting-soil  by  the  barrel,  and  it  is 
all  right,  except  that  it  is  heavy,  and  expensive  to  ship,  and 


228          ABC  OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

none  of  it  comes  anywhere  near  being  equal  to  the  jadoo  in 
this  one  point  of  light  weight  for  sending  plants  already  rooted, 
ready  to  grow.* 

In  closing  this  item  about  jadoo,  permit  me  to  copy  what 
the  originator  of  the  Nick  Ohmer  strawberry-plant  said  in  re- 
gard to  some  plants  (potted  in  jadoo)  I  sent  him  by  mail  : 

Mr.  A.  /.  Root : — Gleanings  and  the  Darling  strawberry-plant  were  re- 
ceived. I  never  saw  a  plant  shipped  in  as  nice  condition,  and  with  such 
extra  large  roots,  as  the  Darling.  I  do  not  know  whether  I  can  pot  plants 
and  send  them  in  such  good  condition  ;  however,  I  will  try  to  send  you  a 
few  plants  of  the  numbers  named.  I  never  sold  any  plants  or  berries,  but 
have  sent  many  plants  to  friends  and  others.  I  sold  my  ground  a  year 
ago,  where  I  grew  berries  for  26  consecutive  years,  and  very  many  fine 
ones.  I  now  have  only  the  east  end  of  a  forty-foot  lot,  and  occupy  a  place 
of,  say,  35  feet  by  about  60  in  berries  ;  but  it  is  astonishing  to  see  what  can 
be  grown  on  a  patch  of  that  size.  I  am  very  glad  to  hear  that  you  are 
meeting  with  a  "  happy  surprise  "  in  the  Nick  Ohmer.  Your  description 
of  its  foliage  is  correct,  only  I  find  some  have  five  leaves  on  a  stem.  With 
me  they  have  an  abundance  of  fruit,  and,  when  properly  ripened,  the 
quality  is  A  No.  1. 

I  kept  the  runners  off  all  along,  and  it  will  be  some  time  before  I  can 
send  you  the  plants.  I  am  nearly  72  years  of  age,  and  must  soon  quit,  al- 
though I  have  great  delight  in  raising  new  seedlings.  I  have  some  of  the 
Nick  Ohmer  and  some  of  the  No.  34,  which  are  very  nice.  The  seed  was 
sown  in  pots  about  Christmas,  and  kept  in  the  house.  From  one  of  No. 
34 1  have  picked  off  four  runners.  I  thought  I  could  get  it  to  bear  this  sea- 
son ;  but  I  notice  it  is  starting  new  runners.  If  they  get  strong  enough  I 
will  pot  one  for  you  for  its  beauty  of  plant.  JOHN  F.  BEAVER. 

Dayton,  O.,  June  13,  1898. 

Perhaps  I  may  say  to  our  readers  that  Mr.  Beaver  has  been 
an  enthusiast  on  growing  strawberry-plants,  especially  in  pro- 

*  As  an  illustration  of  what  jadoo  will  do,  we  were  at  one  time  short 
of  Grand  Rapids  lettuce-plants,  and  wanted  some  as  soon  as  possible.  We 
put  a  mixture  of  jadoo  and  sand — I  think  about  half  and  half — sifted  to- 
gether on  one  of  the  beds  in  the  greenhouse,  perhaps  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
thick.  The  lettuce  seed  was  sown  in  this  mixture.  By  keeping  the  mois- 
ture and  temperature  just  right,  the  lettuce  was  up  in  four  days,  and  in 
four  davs  more  it  was  large  enough  to  transplant.  This  is  about  the  quick- 
est wo-  k  I  have  ever  known.  We  have  tried  peat  and  swamp  muck  in  the 
same  way,  for  starting  seeds,  and  for  filling  the  pots  for  getting  potted 
strawberry-plants,  but  have  never  found  any  thing  that  brought  the  plants 
along  so  rapidly  as  the  jadoo. 


A  B  C   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE.          229 

ducing  new  varieties,  all  his  life.  I  have  also  included  what 
friend  Beaver  has  to  say  about  the  importance  of  mulching  dur- 
ing a  dry  time,  as  it  is  certainly  of  interest  to  all  strawberry- 
growers,  even  if  it  has  no  direct  bearing  on  the  subject  of  jadoo. 
From  a  newspaper  clipping  forwarded  me  by  Mr.  Beaver  I 
take  the  following  : 

MULCHING   DURING  FRUITING,  ETC. 

Mr.  Beaver  said  one  cause  of  failure  in  strawberry  culture  in  a  dry  sea- 
son was  insufficient  mulch  around  the  plants  to  keep  the  soil  cool  and 
moist.  The  soil  on  his  strawberry -beds  was  so  wet  that  he  had  to  protect 
his  knees  against  the  moisture  while  gathering  the  fruit,  and  all  this  with- 
out irrigation— simply  plenty  of  good  mulching.  Mr.  Beaver  showed  four 
plates  of  strawberries  of  such  unusually  large  size  and  fine  color  as  entire- 
ly to  dispel  all  doubts  as  to  the  correctness  of  his  mode  of  culture. 


DIFFERENT  VARIETIES  ;   PICKING  THEM   OUT   BY    BOOKING  AT 
THE  FOLIAGE,  ETC. 

An  expert  with  apple-trees  will  go  into  an  orchard  and  pick 
out  the  different  kinds  by  the  shape  of  the  tree,  wood,  leaf, 
etc. ,  even  before  any  fruit  has  made  its  appearance.  In  the 
same  way,  an  expert  strawberry-man  will  name  many  of  the 
kinds  just  by  looking  at  the  plants,  before  they  have  borne 
fruit.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  explain  how  this  is  done  ;  but 
most  varieties  of  strawberries  have  certain  peculiarities  or  "  ear- 
marks," we  might  almost  say,  that  distinguish  them  at  a  glance. 
One  of  the  most  marked  cases  of  this  kind  that  I  know  of  is  in 
regard  to  the  Nick  Ohmer  ;  and  our  friend  Beaver,  in  the  letter 
above,  alludes  to  it.  This  plant,  every  little  while,  sends  up  a 
stem  with  four  leaves  instead  of  three.  It  is  like  a  four-leafed 
clover  ;  and,  stranger  still,  in  almost  every  patch  of  a  dozen  or 
two  plants  you  will  find  here  and  there  not  only  a  four-leafed 
plant,  but  one  of  these  four  will  have  a  leaf  united  clear  around, 
so  as  to  make  a  funnel-shaped  cup  ;  in  fact,  I  have  picked  off 
these  cup-shaped  leaves  and  given  them  to  the  children,  show- 
ing them  they  could  get  a  small  drink  of  water  out  of  these 
strawberry-leaves.  Now,  to  one  who  makes  strawberry-plants 
a  study,  and  who  loves  to  hunt  up  and  discover  these  peculiar 


230          A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 

freaks  that  every  variety  has,  it  is  a  most  interesting  and  won- 
derful study  ;  and  it  has  a  practical  bearing  also.  One  young 
man  in  my  employ  will  go  through  a  field  where  the  boys  have 
been  setting  out  plant? ,  and  will  sort  out  the  wrong  plants  by 
their  looks,  where  the  boys  have  made  a  blunder,  and  in  this 
way  he  prevents  sending  a  customer  some  plants  at  some  future 
time  that  are  not  true  to  name. 


BEDDING    THE     FIRST     RUNNERS    WHERE    YOU    WANT     THEM; 

SOMETHING  FROM    CORNFLI,    UNIVERSITY    IN    REGARD 
TO  THE  MATTER. 

Through  the  kindness  of  Prof.  Bailey  I  am  enabled  to  give 
a  picture  on  next  page  of  what  I  should  call  a  model  field  of 
strawberries. 

The  following  we  take  from  Bulletin  198,  April,  1901 .  The 
subject  of  the  bulletin  is  "  Oswego  Strawberries." 

As  to  methods  of  planting,  it  may  be  said  that  the  old  method  has 
been  discarded, — planting  in  rows  three  to  three  and  one-half  feet  apart 
and  the  plants  from  twelve  to  fifteen  inches  apart  in  rows,  keeping  off  the 
runners  until  late  in  July  and  then  allowing  the  runners  to  grow  and  root 
at  will,  making  a  matted  row.  In  this  old  system  many  plants  are  almost 
on  top  of  others,  the  roots  barely  in  the  ground,  and  they  suffer  in  a  tea- 
son  of  drouth.  The  rows  are  so  wide  that,  to  pick  fruit  in  the  center,  it  is 
almost  necessary  to  crush  fruits  on  the  outside  of  the  row.  This  system 
gives  few  large  first-class  fruits.  The  up  to-date  grower  starts  with  the 
assumption  that  the  largest  and  highest-colored  fruits  are  found  on  plants 
along  the  outside  of  the  rows,  and  therefore  he  plans  to  have  as  many  out- 
side rows  as  possible.  This  he  accomplishes  by  havine  his  rows  closer  to- 
gether and  much  narrower.  The  rows  are  made  from  30  to  36  inches  apart 
and  the  plants  from  18  to  24  or  even  30  inches  apart  in  the  rows,  much  de- 
pending on  the  capability  of  the  variety  as  a  plant-maker.  If  the  plants 
used  for  a  new  bed  are  strong,  and  start  into  growth  vigorously,  the  first 
runners  are  used,  as  it  has  beeu  found  that,  under  most  conditions,  the 
plants  about  twelve  months  old  yield  the  greatest  number  of  fine  fruits. 
These  first  runners  are  usually  '"  bedded  in,"  i.  e.,  planted  by  hand,  train- 
ing them  along  the  wide  way  of  the  rows,  using  from  four  to  eight  of  the 
first  runners  and  cutting  off  those  growing  later.  This  method  of  plant- 
ing allows  cultivation  both  ways  until  the  runners  start,  retaining  mois- 
ture and  saving  labor  in  hoeing. 

You  will  notice  the  above  instruction  is  directly  in  line  with 
the  plan  given  us  by  Dan  White,  on  page  177,  and  the  one 
recommended  by  Henry  Young,  of  Ada,  O.,  on  page  174. 


232          ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 


;  In  concluding  this  book,  perhaps  I  should  mention  that 
there  are  several  allusions  in  the  back  pages  to  the  fact  that  we 
have  for  many  years  done  quite  a  business  in  selling  strawber- 
ry-plants. At  present  we  have  none  to  sell.  It  is  a  work  that 
I  very  much  enjoyed,  but  it  is  now  two  or  three  years  since  we 
have  done  any  thing  in  that  line.  As  a  rule  I  would  advise  you 
to  get  your  plants  of  some  reliable  grower  near  by — the  nearer 
the  better,  other  things  being  equal  ;  and  if  you  wish  to  get  a 
statt  with  a  certain  variety  that  suits  your  location,  by  all  means 
grow  your  own  plants  on  some  of  the  plans  described  in  this 
book.  If  you  are  compelled  to  send  off  a  distance,  do  not  send 
a  large  order  to  some  unknown  party.  Get  a  few  samples  and 
see  how  you  like  them.  When  you  are  pleased  with  a  man's 
way  of  doing  business  and  the  kind  of  stock  he  sends  out,  then 
give  him  a  large  order  if  you  choose.  One  of  the  reasons  for 
buying  at  home  is  that  you  can  get  your  ground  all  ready,  tLen 
go  and  get  your  plants.  Delays  are  exceedingly  bad  both  ways. 
If  you  get  your  plants  ahead  of  time,  they  may  suffer  by  wait- 
ing till  your  ground  is  ready.  If  you  wait  till  your  ground  is 
all  ready,  during  the  rush  of  the  season,  you  may  suffer  by  be- 
ing obliged  to  wait  till  it  is  too  late  for  the  best  results.  This 
applies  to  spring  setting. 

Hoping  that  the  information  given  in  this  book  may  give 
you  happy  hours  besides  much  fruit,  and  that  you  may  enjoy 
the  work  as  much  as  I  have  enjoyed  strawberry-growing,  as 
well  as  trying  to  make  this  book  helpful  to  those  who  may 
come  after  me,  I  remain 

Your  old  friend  and  well-wisher, 

Medina,  O.,  Jan.  22,  1902.  A.  I.  ROOT. 


ABC   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 


233 


CONTENTS. 


Barber  Berry-farm  208 

Beds,  Starting  from  New 

Plants  in  July 156 

Bees,  Strawberries,  and  Eter- 
nal Life 158 

Berries,  Gathering  the  First  as 
soon  as  Ready  for  Market 

160,171 

Berries,  Getting  Exceedingly 

Early 213 

Berries,  Gilt-edged 94 

Berries,  List  of  Valuable 149 

Berries,  Number  to  Quart 112 

Berries,  shall  Farmers  Grow 

them  to  Sell? 5,  45 

Berries,  Small,  at  a  Lower 

Price .- 93 

Berry,  Largest  Known 127 

Blossoms  Protected  from  Frost 

with  Straw,  Leaves,  etc 80 

Bone  Meal  and  Ashes 90 

Boys  and  Girls  Getting  Inter- 
ested   37 

Brandywine 210,218 

Bubach  Planted  in  the  Fall 164 

Bubach  for  Fancy  Berries  and 

Fancy  Market 189 

Bubach 54.  109,  165 

Champion  of  England 212 

Chickens  Running  among 

Strawberries 12 

Chickens,  Why  they  Learn  to 

Eat  Strawberries 13 

Children,  Importance  of  to  the 

Strawberry-grower 45 

Clergyman  in  Strawberry  patch.,113 

Clyde 214 

Cra'  es  and  Boxes,  Cost  of  at  Fac- 
tory   188 

Crescent 53,  207,  209 

Croo.  Selling  when  there  is  a 

Glut  in  the  Market  162 

Cultivating  and  Hoeing 33 

Cultivating  Both  Ways  77 

Cultivating  Strawberries  Three 

Ways 200 

Cumberland 57,  209 

Dan  White's  Model  Patch 177 

Darling 204,  213,  228 


Distinguishing    Varieties    by 

Appearance 229 

Downing 54,207 

Earliest 213 

Empress 224 

Enhance,  The 174 

Fall  Planting 76,  217 

Farmers,  Shall  they  Grow  their 

own  Strawberries? 5,  45 

Fertilizers  for  Strawberries 18,  45 

Field  Culture,  Open  v.  Small 
Beds  for  Testing  New  Va- 
rieties  216 

Firming  the  Ground  for  Straw- 
berries  183,  215 

Fitting  the  Ground 18 

Frost  an  Injury  to  Blossoms 26 

Fruit-stems,  Clipping  to  Get 

Extra-nice  Plants 199 

Fungous  Enemies  to  Strawber- 
ries  137 

Furrower  and  Marker 136 

Gandy 53,  57,  103,  124,  139,  178,  211 

Glut  ting  the  Market 220 

Ground,  Marking  Out. .27,  62, 174,  235 
Ground,  Smoothing  and  Level- 
ing  200 

Growing  the  Best — Importance 

of 97 

Half-acre  of  Strawberries, 

Plants  2  ft.  apart  each  Way  ..205 
Harvesting  Three  Crops  on  One 

Ground  in  One  Season  142 

Hay,  Marsh,  for  Mulching 83 

Haverland 55.  58,  103,  119 

Hills  and  Side  Hills  for  Straw- 
berries and  other  small 

Plants 187,208 

Horse  Story 207 

How  it  Pays 46,  47 

Insect  Enemies  to  Strawberries.,137 

Irrigation  for  Strawberries 85,  212 

Jadoo 216,226 

Jessie 56 

Lady  Thompson 220 

Location 12 

Making  a  Piece  of  very'pror 
Ground  into  the  very  best 
for  Strawberries  ....  203 


234 


A  B  C   OF   STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 


Manure,  Stable,  and  Weed  Seeds  187 
Manure,     Stable,    Buying    at 

I,ivery  Stables,  etc 224 

Manures  and  Fertilizers  for 

Strawberries 90 

Margiret 201,  210 

Marking  Ground 225 

Marshall 210 

"Matted"  Half-acre 217 

Matthew  Crawford 126 

Michel's  Early 214 

Mulch  of  Dry  Earth 86 

Mulch,  Reaving  it  on  till  I,ate 207 

Mulching 38.  78,  112 

Mulching  and  Manuring  Straw- 
berries at  the  same  time 205 

Mulching  with  Cut  Straw 39 

Mulching  with  Strawy  Stable 

Manure :..  84 

Mulching  that  does  not  contain 

Weed  Seeds 40 

Mulching,  Drawbacks 82 

Mulching  Heavily  with  Straw 
for  Black  berries  and  Rasp- 
berries  139 

Mulching,  Trouble  with  Grain 

in  Straw 39 

Nick  Ohmer .204,  210,  213,  228 

Nick  Ohmer,  Ear-marks 229 

Paths.   To    Make,   in    Matted 

Half-acre 217 

Paths,  Width  of 37 

Picking  and  Marketing 92 

Picking    Regularly    whether 

They  are  Sold  or  Not 220 

Picking  Strawberries  —  Men, 
Women,  or  Children  — 

Which? 221 

Picking,  To  Reduce  Cost 209 

Plantation  Bearing  More  than 

One  Year 98 

Planting  in  the  Fall 76,  217 

Plant,  Old,  shall  we  Cut  it  out  of 

the  Matted  Row? 75,  217 

Plants,  Growing  Nice 195 

Plants  Grown  from  Plants  that 

have  not  Borne  Fruit. ..20,  41,  199 
Plants,  Growing  on  your  own 

Ground 72,  232 

Plants,  Importance  of  Good 20 

Plants,  Making  in  Jadoo 228 

Plants.  Number  to  Acre 32 

Plants.  Pot-bound 196 

Plants,  Putting  up  for  Shipment  144 

Plants,  Selling 216 

Plants,  Settrng 25 

Plants,  Setting  them  in  the 

open  Ground 198 


Plants,  Taking  them  Up 41 

Plants,  Thinning  them  Out 74 

Potato-vine^  for  Mulching 212 

Potted  Plants 129 

Potted  Plants,  Setting  them  in 

the  Fi-ld 132 

Potting  Soil  for  House-plants 204 

Preparing  Ground  for  Summer 

I          and  Fall  Planting 135 

Product  of  One  Square  Rod 50 

Profits  per  Acre 101 

Purslain  among  Strawberries 34 

Ridgeway  Berry 223 

Rio 214 

Rio  for  Extra  Early 214 

Rotation  17 

Rows,  Importance  of  Straight...  63 

Rows,  Matted 69 

"Runners" 35 

Runners  and  Plants,  Getting 

out  of  Season 148 

Runners,  Fixing  where  you 

want  Plants 26 

Runners,  Keeping  them  Off 49,  73 

Runners,  Placing 193,  195 

Setting  every  third  or  fourth 

Row  to  a  Perfect  Variety 24, 

28,  31,32 

Shade,  Rooting  Strawberry- 
plants  in 204 

Sharpless 181,  182,  211 

Side  Hill  v.  Hill-top  for  Straw- 
berries   187 

Soil,  Potting 227 

Soil,  Stirring  during  Dry  Weath- 
er. Need  of 64 

Stable  Manure  and  Weed  Seeds..206 
Staminate  and  Pistillate — Per- 
fect and  Imperfect 22 

Sterling 54, 59,  103 

Straw,  Cut.  as  a  Mulch  79 

Strawberries  and  Ice  Cream  112,  168 
Strawberries  Beneficial  to  Health  11 

Strawberries  in  Hills 71 

Strawberries  on  Sod  Ground — 

Danger  of  Grubs 13 

Strawberries  Planted  between 

Raspberries  and  other  Crops    14 

Strawberries  under  Glass 147,  196 

Strawbei  ries  v.  Tea,  Coffee, 

and  Tobacco 43 

Strawberries,  3  cts.  a  Quart 219 

Strawberries,  66  Meals  in  Suc- 
cession    11 

Strawberries,  $1000  worth  on 

One  Acre  109 

Strawberries,  Crop  in  Fall 146 


ABC   OF  STRAWBERRY   CULTURE. 


235 


:Stra wherries,  Different  Ways 

of  Growing 69 

Strawberries,  Everbearing 146 

Strawberries  Gathering 44 

Strawberries,  Getting  a  Crop 
in  only  9  or  10  months  af- 
ter the  Plants  are  Set 215 

Strawberries,  how  many  can  an 

Average  Family  Consume?....  16 

Strawberries  Grown  in  a  Barrel..222 

Strawberries,  Selling  at  a  Big 

Price 95 

Strawberries,  Selling  During 

Glut  in  Market 106 

Strawberries,  Spacing  for  Best 

Results  172 

Strawberry  Culture  for  those  in 
Poor  Health 145 

Strawberry,  Earliest 217 

Strawberry  Festival 221 

Strawberry  Industry  at  Barnes- 
ville,  Ohio 185 

Strawberry  growing  for  Con- 
sumptives   128 

Strawberry-erowing  for  Liter- 
ary and  Professional  Men 48 

Strawberry-growing  for  Young 
Indies 123 

Strawberry  -  growing      near 

Norfo  k,  Va 219 

Strawbeiry-harrow 110 

Strawberry- patch  Long  and 

Narrow 16 


Strawberry-plants  for  Improv- 
ing the  Soil 141 

Strawberry- plants,  To  Grow  the 

Best 192 

Sub  irrigation 197,  212 

Sub-irrigation  in  Open  Air 197 

Terry's  Berries  in  June,  1891 160 

Terry's  Home 120 

Tiling  the  Ground  for  Straw- 
berries    14 

Tools  for  Cultivating 65,  66,  68 

Tools  for  Hand  Work  among 

Plants 33 

Transplanting  machine 190 

Transplanting  tubes 18 

Transplanting  tubes,  To  Use 133 

Ups  and  Downs  in  Gardening 210 

Varieties 20,  51 

Varieties  to  Use  for  Fertilizers...  60 
Vines,  getting  them  Bear  more 

than  one  Year 154 

Vi«it  to  Terry's  in  July,  1894 166 

Visit  to  Terry's 116 

Water  in  Puddles  on  Strawber- 

rv  Ground 34,  200 

Weeding.  Plan  to  Lessen  La- 
bor of 155 

Weeds  Getting  Out,  or  Plowing 

Patch  under 99 

William  Belt 210 

Working  Giouud  with  a  Horse 

instead  of  by  Hand 35 

Yield  on  Half-acre  in  1890 102 


ILLUSTRATIONS, 

Blossoms,  Perfect  and  Imperfect  22 

Bubach 54 

Chain  Marker 22o 

Cumberland  Triumph 57 

Dan  White's  System  of  Setting 

Plants 177 

Furrower  and  Marker 13« 

Gandy 53 

Garden  plow.  Cole's 201 

Harrow  Attachment  for  Cultiva- 
tor   66 

Hand  Cultivator,   Scuffle  hoe, 

and  Weeder 202 

Haverland .55 

Henry  Young's  Plan  of  Mark- 
ing Ground 174 

Henry  Young's  Plants  after  they 

are  Set 175 

Hill  Culture 2(X) 

Machine  for  Transplanting 

Strawberries 190 


DIAGRAMS,  ETC. 

Home  acre 15 

Oswego  Stra  vberry-patch .231 

Photos  of  Terry's  Berries  Com- 
pared with  Common 104,  105 

Plants,  Good  and  Poor 21 

Plants.  Right  and  Wrong  way 

to  Set 29 

Potted  Strawberry-plants 131 

Rows,  Marking  for  Spacing 27 

Runners,  To  Place  the  Second 

Year 176 

Sterling 59 

Strawberries,  Box  of  Gandy 140 

Strawberries  of  Good  Repute, 

Old  and  New 150-153 

Terry's  Strawberry  patch 81 

Terrv's  Half-acre  ju>t  after 

Plants  had  taken  Root Ill 

Transplanting  tubes.  To  Make. ..133 

Tray  for  Holding  Tubes 134 

Weeder ....198 


Gleanings  in  Bee 
Culture. 


SAMPLE  COPY  FREE. 


A  Semi-monthly  Bee-journal  Devoted 
to  Modern  Apiculturet  and  to  the  Gen- 
eral Interests  of  the  Bee-keepers'  Home, 
Including  High-pressure  Gardening. 


The  A.  L  Root  Company, 

Medina,  Ohio,  U.  S.  A. 


! 


UNCLE  - 


Strawberry=plants  and  Seed  Potatoes. 

Almost  every  season  we  have  a  large  number  of  inquiries 
as  to  where  people  can  get  boxes  for  their  fruit,  etc.  I  have 
already  recommended  you  to  get  your  plants  near  home  if  pos- 
sible. When  you  can  not  do  this  I  would  advise  you  to  send 
to  Flansburgh  &  Peirson,  Leslie,  Mich.,  or  to  The  M.  Crawford 
Co.,  Cuyahoga  Falls,  O.  We  have  bought  plants  of  them  for 
years,  and  have  always  found  them  to  be  nice  men  to  deal  with. 
Above  we  give  a  cut  of  one  of  Flansburgh  &  Peirson 's  latest 
berries,  their  specialty  for  1902,  called  the  "Uncle  Jim." 


Fruit  Packages 


"For  strawberry-boxes,  crates,  etc., 
where  you  can  not  get  them  near  home  I 
would  advise  you  to  send  1o  the  Berlin  Fruit- 
box  Company,  Berlin  Heights,  Ohio." 

A.  I.  ROOT. 


Berlin  Fruit  Box  Co. 

Berlin  Heights,  Ohio. 

CATALOG   ON   APPLICATION. 


BOOKS  ON  RURAL  SUBJECTS. 


Sold  by  The  A.  I.  Root  Co.,  Medina,  0. 


A  B  C  of  Bee  Culture. 

1901  edition;  500 
pages ;  the  only 
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bees.  The  last 
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ies,  issued  in  Oc- 
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year.  Even  before 
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Miller,  who  has  prepared  a  new  set 
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before,  old  subjects  have  been  re- 
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While  the  brok  has  been  enlarg- 
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be  without  this  little  book.  Even  if 
you  don't  grow  strawberries  jou'll 
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What  to  Do,  and  How  to  be 
Happy  while  Doing  It. 

The  above  book,  by  A.  I.  Root,  is 
a  compilation  of  papers  published 
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Maple  Sugar  and  Sugar=bush. 

By  A.  J.  Cook.  The 
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senting some  of  the  droll  experi- 
ences which  a  beginner  with  bees 
sometimes  passes  through.  Besides 
bees,  it  talks  of  other  rural  pur- 
suit?, such  as  gardening,  maple- 
sugar  making,  etc.  Price  I5c  ;  3c 
less  when  sent  with  other  goods  by 
freight  or  express. 

Tile  Drainage. 

By  W.  I.  Chamber- 
lain. This  is  a  very 
valuable  companion 
to  our  other  rural 
books.  It  embraces 
the  experience  of  40 
years  of  one  of  our 
foremost  practical  ag- 
riculturists, who  has 
laid  with  his  own 

hands  over  15  miles  of  tile.     Price 

35c;  bf  mail,  40c. 

Winter  Care   of   Horses  and 
Cattle. 


This  is  friend  Ter- 
ry's second  book  in 
regard  to  farm  mat- 
ters ;  but  it  is  so  in- 
timately connected 
with  his  potato  book 
that  it  reads  almost 
like  a  sequel  to  it. 
If  you  have  only  a 
horse  or  a  cow  it 
will  surely  pay  you  to  invest  in  the 
book,  't  has  44  pages  and  4  cuts. 
Price  25c;  by  mail,  30c. 

Tomato  Culture. 

In  three  parts.  By 
J.  W.  Day,  D  Cum- 
mins, and  A.  I.  Root; 
a  valuable  treatise, 
embracing  field  cul- 
ture, forcing  under 
glass,  and  raising 
plants  for  market. 
Valuable  to  any  ore 
raising  garden  stuff 

of  any  kind  aside  from  tomatoes. 

150    pages ;    illustrated.     Price    35c; 

by  mail,  40c. 


LIU 

14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  elate  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


LIBRARY  USE 


/\PR  1  3  1358 


T,r>  21  A-finm-ft  '57 


General  Library 


